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 LIBRARY CF PR NCETON 
 
 
 
 
 NOV 1 1 1999 
 
 
 THE 
 
 •OLOGICAL S^MIN; 
 
 IRY 
 
 BV 4637 .F28 1915 
 
 Far is, John Thomson, ib/i- 
 
 The book of faith in God 
 
■^ 
 
 •'./(' 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
THE BOOK 
 OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 BY 
 
 JOHN T. PARIS, D.D. 
 
 AUTHOR or "the BOOK OF GOd's PROVIDENCE," " THE BOOK OF 
 ANSWERED PRAYER,'* ETC. 
 
 LIBRARY OF PRINCETON 
 
 NOV 11 1999 
 
 THEOLOGICAL SENMNARY 
 
 HODDER & STOUGHTON 
 LONDON : : : : : MCMXV 
 
Copyright, 1915 
 BY GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY 
 
TO MY MOTHER 
 
FOREWORD 
 
 " The Book of Faith in God " is a narrative of 
 incidents in the lives of some of those whom God has 
 taught to confide in him ; who learned to be calm and 
 serene in circumstances that bring many people to the 
 verge of panic; who knew that they were in God's 
 hands, and so could say with gladness, " Thy will be 
 done " ; who, by constant effort to do their best while 
 they waited for the revelation of God's will, proved 
 that theirs was a living faith; who found their great- 
 est joy in abiding in the presence of him who honors 
 the faith of those who wait for him. 
 
 John T. Faris. 
 
 Philadelphia, 
 April, 1915. 
 
" For this God is our God for ever and ever : 
 He will be our guide even unto death." 
 
 Ps. 48 : 14. 
 
 "O taste and see that the Lord is good." 
 
 Ps. 34:8. 
 
 "Nowabideth faith. ..." 
 
 I CoR. 13 : 13- 
 
 . . Above all, taking the shield of faith. ..." 
 
 Eph. 6 : 16. 
 
 . Draw near ... in full assurance of faith ..." 
 
 Heb. 10 : 22. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 ONE: IN THE HANDS OF GOD. 
 
 I. The Unchanging God 15 
 
 n. The Divine Pursuit 19 
 
 HI. Confident Waiting for God 23 
 
 IV. The Faith That Pleases God 28 
 
 V. The Reward of the Man Who Trusts 31 
 
 TWO: THE REALITY OF GOD'S GUIDANCE. 
 
 VI. Following God's Leading y] 
 
 VII. When God Is Guide 40 
 
 VIIL Does God Guide To-day? 44 
 
 IX. Before and After 46 
 
 X. Links in the Chain 49 
 
 THREE: FIRST LESSONS. 
 
 XL When Danger Threatened Her Child 61 
 
 XIL Belief That Counts 63 
 
 XIII. The Secret of Serenity 65 
 
 XIV. From Mohammed to Christ 68 
 
 XV. In School with Christ 75 
 
 FOUR: THE JUSTIFICATION OF FAITH. 
 
 XVI. In Time of Doubt 87 
 
 XVII. They Caught the Ship 93 
 
 XVIII. Moving Mountains in Japan 95 
 
 XIX. A Life of Trust in the Desert 102 
 
 9 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 FIVE: ENCOURAGEMENTS. 
 
 XX. In God's Strength in 
 
 XXI. "Lacked Ye Anything? " 113 
 
 XXII. Keep on Praying 122 
 
 XXIII. Trusting God for Daily Needs 125 
 
 SIX : THE CALL AND THE RESPONSE. 
 
 XXIV. When God Speaks to Us 137 
 
 XXV. The Assurance of Things Hoped For 141 
 
 XXVI. Obedience and Blessing 144 
 
 XXVII. The Bible a Personal Message 147 
 
 XXVIII. Living on God's Word 150 
 
 SEVEN: AS LITTLE CHILDREN. 
 
 XXIX. Why She Was Not Afraid 157 
 
 XXX. A Boy's Lesson 159 
 
 XXXI. Their Simple Faith 161 
 
 XXXII. Four Christians Who Prayed 167 
 
 XXXIII. A Thankful Woman 170 
 
 EIGHT: IN GOD'S KEEPING. 
 
 XXXIV. The Good Hand of Our God 175 
 
 XXXV. God in Our Everyday Life 179 
 
 XXXVI. God Knows 182 
 
 XXXVII. In Unexpected Ways 184 
 
 XXXVIII. The Sleepless Watcher 189 
 
 NINE: IN TIME OF TRIAL. 
 
 XXXIX. Faith and Means 193 
 
 XL. Proving Their Faith 196 
 
 XLI. When Gates Were Closed 200 
 
 XLII. Alone, Yet Not Alone 207 
 
 10 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 TEN : EVERYDAY HEROES OF FAITH. 
 
 XLIII. The Secret of Youth 217 
 
 XLIV. The Faith of Four Converts 220 
 
 XLV. A Picture Gallery of Heroes 226 
 
 XLVI, Missionaries and Money-Makers 230 
 
 XLVn. Taking the Long Look 235 
 
 ELEVEN: SERVING IN FAITH. 
 
 XLVIII. She Would Not Deny Her Lord 243 
 
 XLIX. The Proof of Their Faith 246 
 
 L. Fourteen Faithful Years 250 
 
 LI. The Faith of a Worker 257 
 
 TWELVE : IN LIFE AND IN DEATH. 
 
 LII. A Finished Transaction 265 
 
 LIII. Looking Death in the Face 269 
 
 LIV. Of One Blood 273 
 
 LV. Fret Not 277 
 
 LVI. The Faith of a Leper 281 
 
 LVII. "The Lord Is My Shepherd" 288 
 
 Index of Texts Cited or Illustrated 293 
 
 II 
 
ONE 
 IN THE HANDS OF GOD 
 
 13 
 
The way is dark, my Father! Cloud on cloud 
 Is gathering thickly o'er my head, and loud 
 The thunder roars above me. See, I stand 
 Like one bewildered! Father, take my hand, 
 
 And through the gloom 
 
 Lead safely home 
 Thy child." 
 
 " O God of Calvary : O Lord divine ! 
 
 Hold me and I am held! I cannot slide 
 
 When pressing closely to thy bleeding side, 
 Though men and devils 'gainst my soul combine! 
 
 Nor shall I wander far, if in the veil 
 Of Jesus' flesh, my anchor has been cast; 
 
 But I shall hear the welcome plaudit, ' Hail, 
 Beloved, enter into rest!' at last." 
 
 14 
 
THE UNCHANGING GOD 
 
 A POET of Israel who was grieving for the down- 
 fall of Jerusalem and for the lowly condition of 
 himself and his countrymen at length turned his 
 thoughts to God and cried to him. In him he found 
 something sure, a rock on which he could rest. " I 
 have been unhappy, because of these things," was his 
 cry, "but thou art the same; these outward things 
 have changed, but thou canst not change." 
 
 He was right. God changes not; he is ever the 
 same. In the midst of all our griefs and our tears 
 because of changes and disappointments, vexations and 
 griefs, we can turn to God. For he is the " I am," 
 who revealed himself to Moses. When he spoke of 
 himself in this way he did not say what he would be 
 some day; he said, '' I am." And the great I Am, the 
 unchanging God, is our refuge, our present help in time 
 of trouble. *' Therefore will not we fear, though the 
 earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried 
 into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof 
 roar and be troubled ; though the mountains shake with 
 the swelling thereof." 
 
 We ought to stop and think often just how much 
 the unchangeableness of God means to us. 
 
 It tells us what is his attitude to us. *' God so loved 
 the world that he gave his only begotten Son." He 
 
 IS 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 loved the world then, and he loves the world now. God 
 is love. He is no Jekyll and Hyde, sometimes benevo- 
 lent, at other times malevolent. But always he is our 
 physician in time of moral sickness, our friend in 
 hours of sorrow as in hours of joy, our Father when, 
 as children, we feel the need of him. 
 
 When we read how Christ walked the earth and 
 healed the sick, sought the poor and cheered their 
 hearts, and talked to men of the love of the Father, it 
 is not enough to know that all this happened nineteen 
 hundred years ago ; we long for his presence now. We 
 forget that he is still at work. True, he walks no 
 more in the world, he talks no more with the passers-by 
 on the streets, but he talks to them and he talks to 
 us by his Holy Spirit. And as he talks to us by his 
 Spirit, he tells us that his deeds of healing, his words 
 of love, his assurances of the Father's care, were only 
 that men might know that God is at all times Physician 
 and Friend and Father. 
 
 Since God is unchangeable, his promises are sure. 
 He performs them every one. They are not outlawed 
 by the lapse of time. God who made them sits in 
 unchanging love and longing for his people. So we 
 have no need to worry, as we do so often; no need to 
 take the promises with a great deal of allowance. We 
 are to plant our feet firmly upon them and we shall be 
 safe. 
 
 How often we look at one of God's promises doubt- 
 ingly, claim it very hesitatingly, get down as it were 
 on hands and knees for fear it will fail us, when all 
 the time that promise is as strong as the omnipotent 
 God who made it and makes it to-day, as unchangeable 
 
 i6 
 
THE UNCHANGING GOD 
 
 as the Eternal who assures us, '' Even to old age I am 
 he, and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have 
 made, and I will bear: yea, I will carry and I will 
 deliver." 
 
 Then the thought of the unchangeableness of God 
 is our encouragement to prayer, and constant prayer. 
 We can go to God at all times, sure of a favorable 
 reception at his hands. There is no need to wait for 
 a favorable moment, as Esther was compelled to wait 
 when she wished to go to her king. Her earthly lord 
 was a creature like ourselves, subject to moods and 
 tempers and fits of the blues, and she wished to remain 
 away from him until she realized that he was having 
 one of his good days. Frequently we find it advisable 
 to observe the same precaution in our dealings with 
 men. We have a favor to ask, but we do not ask it 
 until we have tested our friend by a few moments of 
 casual conversation ; we want to know how he is feel- 
 ing. Perhaps we have a business proposition to make, 
 but we may have to postpone our work for days, while 
 we wait for a favorable opportunity. We learn to be 
 wise as serpents in our dealings with men, because they 
 are as changeable as ourselves. 
 
 There is no need to wait for the sign that God is 
 ready for us. It is only a fable which tells that the 
 invalids of Jerusalem could not hope for relief in the 
 pool of Bethesda until the moment it was troubled by 
 an angel from heaven; it was only a man who held 
 out the scepter to his queen in token that he would 
 grant her petition instead of ordering her death. But 
 it is the true God who calls us to him at all times. 
 When we go to him in prayer of petition, we do not 
 
 17 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 need continually to draw back, with the thought that 
 we had better wait until another day ; we have already 
 asked as much as we think he will feel like giving us 
 to-day ! We cannot ask too much of him whom giving 
 doth not impoverish nor withholding enrich. We 
 cannot approach too often to him who said, " For I, 
 Jehovah, change not." 
 
 To him we must cling in the midst of the changes 
 and the disappointments, the griefs and the losses of 
 life, as well as in the times of joy and gladness. For 
 those who cling to God cannot be overwhelmed. They 
 shall be safe. To him they can always pray, in faith 
 and trust: 
 
 O Thou who changest not, 
 Abide with me." 
 
 And he will hear the prayer and give his wonderful 
 answer. 
 
 i8 
 
II 
 
 THE DIVINE PURSUIT 
 
 TXrE have heard so much of the sufferings, of men 
 ^ ^ who are pursued by misfortune of some kind 
 that the word pursuit has come to have a most un- 
 pleasant sound in our ears. 
 
 It is a common thing to hear a man say, " I am pur- 
 sued by bad luck. Nothing I do turns out well. Every- 
 thing I touch is blasted." 
 
 It is human nature to think that it is only by the 
 utmost good fortune men can escape the sorrows 
 which are all about them; that misfortune is the only 
 thing to be had without a struggle; that the pleasant 
 things of life must be striven for with might and main, 
 and only secured, if at all, from the grasping hand 
 of an unwilling fate. 
 
 This idea that sorrow is pursuing men while they are 
 continually in pursuit of blessing has left its impress 
 on literature. Greek philosophers agreed that happi- 
 ness must be pursued by man if he would obtain it. 
 The fathers of the United States put in words the 
 same idea when they said that the inalienable rights 
 of men are *' life, liberty, and the pursuit of happi- 
 ness." 
 
 But long before the time of the signers of the 
 Declaration of Independence, or the days of the an- 
 cient Greeks, King David of Israel gave expression to 
 
 19 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 exactly the contrary feeling. He did not say that man 
 is pursued by evil, while happiness eludes him, but 
 that happiness is pursuing man : " Surely goodness and 
 mercy shall follow me," he wrote, or, as a more exact 
 translation gives the thought, ** Only goodness and 
 mercy shall pursue me." So his idea was that 
 man is pursued by goodness and mercy, and by these 
 only. 
 
 Then where does evil come in? The inference is 
 unavoidable. If evil is not pursuing men, then men are 
 pursuing evil, laying hold upon it, throwing themselves 
 ever in the way of misfortune and trouble and 
 anxiety. 
 
 What a reversal of all our conceptions of life! 
 Goodness and mercy pursuing us, while we are doing 
 all we can to escape them, while we run after sin and 
 misery ! 
 
 Of course all men realize that God is in pursuit of 
 them. But so many fail to realize that by giving them- 
 selves unreservedly into his hands they insure for them- 
 selves blessing, their capture by goodness and mercy. 
 Why do they persist in the idea that when God pur- 
 sues them it is with a flaming sword in his hand, that 
 there is safety only in flight, and that he follows them, 
 turning when they turn, always at their heels, seeking 
 to overthrow them? 
 
 God is pursuing men continually, but he is seeking to 
 help them and make their lives a blessing. He is seek- 
 ing to touch them, in order that he may impart to them 
 the riches of his love. How the fugitives misunder- 
 stand him! There is no flaming sword in his hand. 
 Goodness is there, and mercy. If only they would per- 
 
 20 
 
THE DIVINE PURSUIT 
 
 mit God to lay his hands upon them! But no! On 
 they go, congratulating themselves on their ability to 
 elude him. 
 
 Some there are who go through life thus, continually 
 striving to elude God's blessing. To the portal of the 
 tomb they go. Not once has God been permitted to 
 bless them as he wishes. "Hands off!" they cry, 
 and God has kept his hands off. 
 
 They have escaped him through life, if it can be 
 called an escape to slip from the grasp of goodness and 
 mercy, only at the end to come into the hands of a 
 God who is then all justice, bearing indeed a sword of 
 flaming fire. They have escaped from love, only to be 
 captives forever in the chains of sin. 
 
 But the result of men's blindness is not always so 
 sad. When man permits the hand of the pursuing God 
 to touch him, how life brightens! Then indeed the 
 goodness and mercy which have been following him 
 are understood. After long periods of running from 
 God's goodness, men do sometimes permit God to 
 reach them with blessing, and then they have the 
 Psalmist's vision of joy. 
 
 That vision of God's pursuing, beneficent provi- 
 dence enabled William McKinley, in the midst of suf- 
 fering, in the hour of death, to murmur, " Nearer, my 
 God, to thee." 
 
 It was that vision which enabled Garfield, on the day 
 after Lincoln's assassination, to quiet the frenzied 
 mob on Wall Street by shouting so that all could hear, 
 " Fellow-countrymen, God reigns and the government 
 at Washington still lives." 
 
 It is the same vision which leads God's people to- 
 21 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 day to say, whatever the difficulty or the danger to 
 which they are exposed : 
 
 '' Why art thou cast down, O my soul, and why art 
 thou disquieted within me ? " '' Hope thou in God," 
 for *' only goodness and mercy shall pursue me all the 
 days of my life." 
 
 22 
 
Ill 
 
 CONFIDENT WAITING FOR GOD 
 
 TN the course of God's loving dealings with us, there 
 -^ come times when, in order to give the joys he has 
 prepared for us, he must lead us through experiences 
 that seem trials. 
 
 Surely we can bear these trials for the sake of what 
 we know is coming to us! Surely we can be content 
 to wait in confident trust for the revelation of God's 
 purpose ! 
 
 But no! So often, in the moment of temporary 
 trial and loss, we suffer our thoughts to turn away 
 from God and rest upon the trials, upon self. Then the 
 bitterness of our lot almost overwhelms us. We cry 
 out that God has forgotten us; that the Saviour has 
 left our side for the time; therefore these evils have 
 come upon us. 
 
 But he has not gone. He is with us all the time. 
 He hears our reproaches and complainings, and his 
 heart is filled with sorrow, sorrow like that which 
 came to him on the day when it was written of him, 
 '* Jesus wept." Sorrow, for we had promised to trust 
 him! 
 
 A humble follower of the Master who suffered great 
 anguish during a long illness was once asked how she 
 endured such suffering. She replied, " They who look 
 upon God's face never feel his hand." 
 
 23 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 One trouble is that we look away from God's face. 
 We fail to see the love there which would inspire our 
 trust, and we think only of the hardness of our pres- 
 ent lot. 
 
 It is as though the gold-seeker, traveling to the 
 bonanza field of which he has heard brilliant tales, 
 should become discouraged because of the hardships 
 of the way. Only those whose minds are steadfastly 
 fastened on the gold which they fondly hope will 
 reward their efforts can calmly bear the sufferings of 
 the journey, and can win through to the goal. 
 
 The seeker after gold is sustained in difficulty by a 
 hope which ever eludes him : it is not one such adven- 
 turer in a hundred who is sucessful. But we who are 
 Christians have set before us a reward that cannot 
 escape our grasp; we are certain to secure it if we hold 
 to the quest through all the trials and difficulties of the 
 way. Why, then, can we not be as patient and confident 
 as one whose hope is so often doomed to disappoint- 
 ment ? God has said that all things work together for 
 good to them that love him. Knowing this, why can- 
 not we leave in his hands these passing troubles which 
 worry us, looking ahead to the promised good as the 
 traveler over a mountain range submits without a 
 thought to the darkness and unpleasantness of the 
 miles of snowsheds, because he knows that by means 
 of these he will be enabled to pass the otherwise im- 
 passable barriers of snow? When the traveler reaches 
 the summit, comes out into the air, and beholds the 
 wonderful panorama of white-clad mountain peaks 
 reaching into the clear blue of heaven, his confidence 
 is justified; any passing discomfort of the journey is 
 
 24 
 
CONFIDENT WAITING FOR GOD 
 
 forgotten. So if we resolutely put aside the temptation 
 to repine at sickness and losses, at misconceptions of 
 our actions by our friends, the temporary closing in 
 our faces of doors to usefulness, and all the things we 
 cannot understand, we shall be ready always by reason 
 of our complete trust in God to enter into the glory he 
 is preparing for us by means of these very trials. 
 
 We need the trust of Job to say, '' Though he slay 
 me, yet will I trust in him." We need trust in God like 
 that which Sir Wemyss Reid, in his biography of 
 Lyon Playfair, says Prince Albert of England had in 
 the scientist, as shown on the occasion of a visit to the 
 scientist's laboratory. '' The prince and Playfair were 
 standing near a caldron containing lead, which was 
 boiling at white heat. ' Has your royal highness any 
 faith in science? ' asked Playfair. ' Certainly,' replied 
 the prince. Playfair then washed the prince's hand 
 with ammonia to get rid of any grease that might be 
 on it. ' Will you now place your hand in this boiling 
 metal and ladle out a portion of it? ' he said to his dis- 
 tinguished pupil. ' Do you tell me to do this? ' asked 
 the prince. ' I do,' replied Playfair. The prince in- 
 stantly put his hand into the caldron, and ladled out 
 some of the boiling lead without sustaining any in- 
 jury." 
 
 Should a man show more confidence in a human 
 friend than in God? Yet we do precisely this, so often, 
 in spite of all our declaration of undying trust in the 
 love of God. 
 
 We need to learn that God is mighty, and that his 
 might is for us; that God is love, and that his love is 
 for us; that God knows the future, and that he has 
 
 25 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 planned for us; that others may seek to harm us, but 
 that God will hinder their plans ; that when trials come 
 to us in our service of God there will be greater joy 
 and happiness at some time in the future than ever we 
 could have known without these afflictions. 
 
 God's plan for us is being fulfilled; his purposes 
 for us are being carried out, certainly and surely, and 
 no one can hinder them, except as we ourselves step in 
 the way and will not permit the working out of God's 
 good pleasure for us. 
 
 When we clear the way of petty prejudice and mis- 
 trust, the good pleasure of God will be brought to 
 pass. For '' our present light affliction, which is but 
 for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding 
 and eternal weight of glory." 
 
 Therefore, *' trust ye in Jehovah forever, for in 
 Jehovah is an everlasting rock." Remember that you 
 are God's man, and say, with John Burroughs : 
 
 Serene, I fold my hands and wait, 
 
 Nor care for wind, or tide, or sea; 
 I rave no more 'gainst time or fate, 
 
 For lo! my own shall come to me. 
 
 I stay my haste, I make delays, 
 
 For what avails this eager pace? 
 I stand amid th' eternal ways. 
 
 And what is mine shall know my face. 
 
 Asleep, awake, by night or day. 
 The friends I seek are seeking me; 
 
 No wind can drive my bark astray, 
 Nor change the tide of destiny. 
 
 What matter if I stand alone? 
 
 I wait with joy the coming years; 
 My heart shall reap where it has sown, 
 
 And garner up the fruit of tears. 
 
 26 
 
CONFIDENT WAITING FOR GOD 
 
 The waters know their own and draw 
 The brook that springs in 3'onder heights; 
 
 So flows the good with equal law 
 Unto the soul of pure delights. 
 
 The stars come nightly to the sky, 
 The tidal wave comes to the sea; 
 
 Nor time, nor space, nor deep, nor high, 
 Can keep my own away from me. 
 
 27 
 
IV 
 
 THE FAITH THAT PLEASES GOD 
 
 'T^HERE are degrees of faith. There is the faith 
 -■- of him who beheves in Christ just enough to 
 throw himself on Christ for salvation. But he knows 
 so little of the Master; he has not had time to learn. 
 Yet Christ receives him, for he will not break the 
 bruised reed nor quench the smoking flax. Christ 
 bears with him, even when he shows that he is satis- 
 fied with bearing the name of Christian, with having 
 entered the outer sanctuary of God's heart, where he is 
 content to stay. 
 
 Then there is the faith of him who is never satis- 
 fied with what he knows, but is ever longing for more 
 light, more revelation, further progress in the mys- 
 teries of the Christian life. 
 
 Both men have saving faith. But what a difference 
 there is in their lives! A seventeenth-century writer 
 has compared the faith of the man who is content with 
 little to the voyage of a leaky, unseaworthy vessel. 
 Buffeted by storms, its captain and crew have a hard 
 time to keep afloat; but it reaches port at last. But 
 the Christian whose faith is ever increasing is like 
 the stanch and steady vessel which, though encounter- 
 ing the same storms, is able to ride them safely and 
 securely, at cost of little vexation and delay, until it 
 
 28 
 
THE FAITH THAT PLEASES GOD 
 
 comes into the harbor with every sail set to the favor- 
 ing wind. 
 
 A Httle faith is far better than none, but a growing 
 faith is a necessity for the comfort of the Christian, 
 and it is a necessity if we would please God. God 
 is always pleased when he sees faith, but how much 
 greater is his pleasure when he sees great faith! 
 
 When Peter started to walk to Christ upon the 
 water, and began to sink, Christ called to him yearn- 
 ingly, " O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou 
 doubt?" When the disciples sought to heal the 
 demoniac boy, but could not for lack of faith, the Mas- 
 ter looked lovingly and reprovingly upon them and 
 exclaimed, '' O faithless generation, how long shall I 
 be with you ? " 
 
 Thus two of Christ's infrequent reproofs to his dis- 
 ciples were called forth by little faith. It was natural, 
 then, that one of the very few occasions when he mar- 
 veled was when strong faith was disclosed in an unex- 
 pected quarter. A centurion wished him to heal his 
 servant. But he felt unworthy that Christ should 
 come under his roof, and he entreated him : " Speak 
 the word only, and my servant shall live." And Christ 
 was pleased, for he said, '' I have not found such faith, 
 no, not in Israel." 
 
 Christ was always pleased when he saw great faith, 
 and when he saw desire for more faith. Surely he was 
 gratified when the blind man cried : ** Lord, I believe ; 
 help thou mine unbelief." And when the disciples 
 prayed, '' Increase our faith," he proceeded at once to 
 show them what great things faith could accomplish. 
 
 God is pleased with a little faith. But it is worthy 
 29 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 of notice and reflection that those whose names are 
 placed in God's book of remembrance in the eleventh 
 chapter of Hebrews as those who pleased him were 
 men and women of strong and growing faith. There 
 is no Saul there, and no Thomas; but the names of 
 Enoch and Noah and Abraham, of Sarah and Isaac 
 and Jacob, of Joseph and Moses and Rahab, tell us dis- 
 tinctly that a growing faith is necessary to him who 
 would please God. 
 
 30 
 
THE REWARD OF THE MAN WHO 
 TRUSTS 
 
 TRUST in God brings blessings for the present. 
 David said of God: "He is our help." Note 
 that little word " is." How much it tells of the life 
 of the writer! He believed God's Word, and accepted 
 it. He understood that God was not only ready to 
 help him, but that he was helping him. He had made 
 trial of God in the past, had been brought to the knowl- 
 edge of his power and ability to help his- children, and 
 now he was simply resting in the knowledge that he 
 was with him. God was his help in difficulties, public 
 and personal; his help in temptations; his help in suf- 
 fering. " He is our help." This was a declaration 
 like that made by Lincoln when he left Springfield for 
 Washington after his election to the presidency : '' I 
 feel that I cannot succeed without the divine aid upon 
 which at all times Washington relied. On him I place 
 my reliance for support." 
 
 But David was also sure of receiving benefits for 
 the future. In the same passage from which quotation 
 has already been made he said : " Our heart shall re- 
 joice in him." He knew that the future held for him 
 nothing but joy — not transient joy, the joy of earthly 
 existence, the joy which man tastes only to turn from 
 
 31 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 it in disgust; but real joy, the joy of the heart, the 
 joy of God himself. A heart rejoicing in the Lord is 
 to be the possession, throughout an eternal future, of 
 every man who trusts in God, because God will wait 
 lovingly on those who trust him, and will give them 
 joy in the knowledge and the possession of himself. 
 
 I doubt, however, if there was any such distinction 
 between present and future blessings in the mind of 
 David. For he had a vivid sense of God present with 
 him. Having God he had all things, not only for the 
 present, but for the future; not only for the future, 
 but for the present. Eternal life was his present pos- 
 session; the joy of the future would be but a continua- 
 tion of his present joy. That experience will be under- 
 stood by many Christians. They not only grasp the 
 blessings of the present — these can be understood and 
 appreciated by their friends — but they have so long 
 brooded over the promise, " all things are yours," and 
 the personality and reliability of him who inspired 
 those words, that already, by faith, they have laid hold 
 upon the joys of the future and have them in the 
 present. 
 
 Once I read the story of a poor Christian widow 
 who had long looked forward to receiving a fortune 
 which had been in litigation for many years. She had 
 planned just what she would do with every dollar; it 
 was all to go to the Church of Jesus Christ, for work 
 at home and abroad. She was sure of her right to the 
 fortune. Her lawyer had assured her it would be in 
 her possession some day. She was as happy in plan- 
 ning the distribution of the funds as if they were 
 actually in her hands. And when she died, without 
 
 32 
 
REWARD OF THE MAN WHO TRUSTS 
 
 having received the fortune, it was found that, by 
 will, she had left it all to the work to which she had, 
 in thought, given it while yet alive. That was, then, 
 as much a real gift, so far as she was concerned, as it 
 proved to be a few days after her death, when the 
 case was settled and the money was turned over to the 
 widow's church. She had simply grasped in the pres- 
 ent what she felt assured was to come to her in the 
 future. 
 
 So it was with the patriarch Jacob. He received 
 a promise from God that the land in which he dwelt 
 was to belong to his seed after him. This promise was 
 so many times repeated, and he dwelt on the thought 
 of it so often, that he looked upon the land as already 
 his, though many tribes of enemies occupied it. And 
 when he lay on his deathbed in Egypt, far from the 
 promised inheritance, he felt that it was his to dispose 
 of as he would — a present possession, because a prom- 
 ised possession. With magnificent faith he called his 
 sons and gave them his blessing, and to each man a 
 portion in that land of promise. It has been pointed 
 cut that the reality of his belief in his present posses- 
 sion was shown when, pausing in the midst of his 
 legacy-giving, he lifted his eyes to heaven and cried, 
 " I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord," as though 
 singing in his gratitude to God, " Thou didst promise ; 
 now thou hast fulfilled thy promise ; the promised bless- 
 ing is at hand." By long communion with God, he 
 had grasped the promises so securely that the mark 
 between present and future had entirely disappeared. 
 For him all was present joy, because of present 
 faith. 
 
 33 
 
JHE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 Are we learning how trust in God enriches life here 
 and now with all the promised joys of God, enabling 
 us, while we are still toiling upon the earth, to grasp 
 hands with the glorified saints, and to share the hap- 
 piness they know ? 
 
 34 
 
TWO 
 THE REALITY OF GOD'S GUIDANCE 
 
 35 
 
The clouds hang heavy 'round my way, 
 
 I cannot see ; 
 But through the darkness I believe 
 
 God leadeth me- 
 'Tis sweet to keep my hand in his 
 
 While all is dim ; 
 To close my weary, aching eyes, 
 
 And follow him. 
 Through many a thorny path he leads 
 
 My tired feet ; 
 Through many a path of tears I go. 
 
 But it is sweet 
 To know that he is close to me, 
 
 My God, my Guide. 
 He leadeth me. and so I walk 
 
 Quite satisfied. 
 To my blind eyes he may reveal 
 
 No light at all : 
 But while I lean on his strong arm 
 
 I cannot fall. 
 
 — Henry Alford. 
 
 36 
 
VI 
 
 FOLLOWING GOD'S LEADING 
 
 'TpHOUSANDS of years ago, the promise was 
 -■- given to those who loved God that they should 
 be directed day by day in such a way that their 
 lives would be useful and happy. The promise was 
 very specific. " And thou shalt hear a voice behind 
 thee saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when thou 
 turnest to the right hand or when thou turnest to the 
 left." 
 
 Of course there were those who did not believe the 
 promise; they tried to guide themselves. But there 
 were many who did believe ; every day they gave them- 
 selves up to God for his guidance, so that they were 
 able to make their own the language of the Psalm, 
 " The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. . . . He 
 leadeth me beside the still waters. . . . He leadeth me 
 in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake." To 
 them the promise was given by Jesus that he would 
 send his Spirit into their hearts, that he might guide 
 them into all truth. 
 
 How is the promise fulfilled? This is a mystery to 
 those who will not give themselves up to God's guid- 
 ance ; but to those who do yield themselves it becomes 
 very plain that God guides those who put themselves in 
 his hands and seek to cooperate with him by doing the 
 very best they can for themselves. 
 
 37 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 We are foolish when we think we can guide our- 
 selves through the mazes of life. Our vision is im- 
 perfect, our judgment is immature, we can see such 
 a small part of our surroundings and cannot properly 
 interpret these. Our need is for One whose vision 
 and judgment are perfect, who knows our circum- 
 stances and the circumstances of others, that we may 
 ask him to guide us. 
 
 To frightened passengers on an ocean steamer who 
 feared because they saw only the fog about them, the 
 chief mate said : '' You need not be the least uneasy. 
 The fog extends only to a certain height above the 
 water, and the captain is at the masthead, up above 
 the fog, and it is he who is directing the vessel! " 
 
 There is no reason to be uneasy when we put our- 
 selves in the hands of him who sees above and beyond 
 the fogs and clouds of life. He knows the way we 
 take and he will make plain our pathway before 
 us. 
 
 God's guidance is given to those who read his word, 
 who pray to him, not merely once a day, but who are 
 always in communion with him. The way may never 
 seem to be made plain very far ahead, but God makes it 
 plain sufficiently far ahead to enable his people to 
 plant their steps firmly and confidently. When they 
 need it, more light will be given. 
 
 Christians often rebel as God shows them the way 
 they are to take. They think their own way would be 
 better, but it is only as they yield their judgment to 
 God's loving wisdom that their lives become filled with 
 peace and joy. 
 
 The lesson is taught by George MacDonald: 
 
 38 
 
FOLLOWING GOD'S LEADING 
 
 I said, "Let me walk in the field," 
 He said, "Nay, walk in the town." 
 
 I said, "There arc no flowers there," 
 He said, " No flowers, but a crown." 
 
 I said, " But the skies are black. 
 
 There is nothing but noise and din ; " 
 But he wept as he sent me back, 
 "There is more," he said, "there is sin." 
 
 I said, "I shall miss the light, 
 
 And friends will miss me, they say;" 
 
 He answered me, " Choose to-night, 
 H I am to miss you, or they." 
 
 I pleaded for time to be given : 
 He said, "Is it hard to decide? 
 
 It will not seem hard in heaven 
 
 To have followed the steps of your Guide.* 
 
 Then into his hand went mine. 
 
 And into my heart came he; 
 And I walked in a light divine. 
 
 The path I had feared to see. 
 
 39 
 
VII 
 WHEN GOD IS GUIDE 
 
 ^TT^HERE is a marvelous record in a wonderful Book 
 •*- that tells of two men, each of whom was making 
 a journey. They did not know each other, and they 
 were not planning to go in the same direction. One 
 of the men was troubled and anxious; he had been 
 reading a book which he did not understand. The 
 second man knew something that would help him. 
 
 But what good was his knowledge to the anxious 
 man until they were brought together? And how 
 was the one to find the other ? 
 
 There was just one way, for there was One only 
 who had access to both men. God wanted them to 
 meet, for he knew the one man's need, and the other 
 man's longing to be of use. So he guided the reader 
 till the reader came close to the man who knew, and 
 he guided the steps of the man who knew till he saw 
 the reader. Acts 8 : 26-40 tells what followed. 
 
 Two chapters further on, the same Book tells of 
 two other men who were brought together in a man- 
 ner equally marvelous. One of them was an officer 
 in the Roman army. One night he was praying. We 
 are not told the subject of his prayer, but we can guess. 
 He must have asked to be taught how to serve God 
 better, for when he was praying God told him to 
 seek a certain Jew, as much as to say, " He is the man 
 
 40 
 
\ WHEN GOD IS GUIDE 
 
 to help you." Now the centurion did not know the 
 Jew, and he well might have been reluctant to send for 
 him, for he knew a Jew would not be apt to listen to 
 a communication from a Gentile. Yet God had told 
 him what to do, so he did as he was told. 
 
 Now the Jew, too, was a man of prayer. The day 
 after the prayer of the centurion, which led him to send 
 for the Jew, the Jew was praying. We are not told 
 the subject of his prayer, either, but, if we are to 
 judge from the answer, he must have been seeking 
 guidance in his work for God. God told him to follow 
 the men who were even then seeking for him, the cen- 
 turion's men, who were near at hand, obeying their 
 master's orders. 
 
 The Jew obeyed the message, as the centurion had 
 obeyed the day before, and thus God brought together 
 these two men who were to help each other, and were 
 to be a blessing to the world. 
 
 " How fine it would be to have my wants supplied 
 in such an unmistakable fashion ! " the reader of these 
 stories says. '' But I must not expect such a thing to 
 happen to-day ! " 
 
 Why not ? Such things do happen to-day, for God 
 is the same to-day as in the days of the desert reader 
 and the traveling Jew; as in the days of the eager cen- 
 turion and the praying Simon Peter. 
 
 In a busy Atlantic Coast city there was a pastor 
 for whom the onerous demands of the Sunday school 
 and the church were proving too heavy. If the work 
 was to be done properly, he knew he must have assist- 
 ance. But where was assistance to come from? Al- 
 ready the members of the church were carrying heavy 
 
 41 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 burdens, and the pastor could not ask them to assume 
 the expense of an assistant. He thought, he prayed, 
 he tried in every way of which he could think to supply 
 his own need, but in vain. Just then came an insistent 
 call to attend a district meeting of ministers. At first 
 he thought he could not go; the cost would be more 
 than he felt able to pay, the journey would be long 
 and arduous, and home work was crowding more than 
 ever. Yet as he prayed for guidance he was sure he 
 ought to attend that meeting. 
 
 Hundreds of miles away was another minister who 
 had resigned his church in a distant state for reasons 
 of health. At last the way was open to resume work, 
 but he did not wish a field where he would work for 
 salary. God had given him income sufficient for his 
 needs, and he was eager to work where he was needed, 
 without a cent of pay. He had asked God to guide him 
 to work. To him, also, came the notice to attend the 
 meeting. Because the journey would be difficult he 
 was on the point of remaining at home, but when he 
 prayed for guidance, he felt he must attend the meet- 
 ing. 
 
 At the meeting the two men were brought face to 
 face, though as strangers. The pastor who needed as- 
 sistance told the assembled ministers of the great open- 
 ings in his field, and the impossibility of taking advan- 
 tage of them. The minister who sought work listened, 
 and knew that his prayer was answered. Immediately 
 on returning home, he wrote to the overworked pastor, 
 offering his services, without cost. Inquiries were 
 made of those to whom he referred, and these were 
 satisfactorily answered. Within two months after the 
 
 42 
 
WHEN GOD IS GUIDE 
 
 district meeting he was settled as associate pastor in 
 the needy field. The prayers of both men were an- 
 swered. God had guided their steps. 
 
 This is not an isolated instance; it is merely one of 
 thousands and tens of thousands that are told daily by 
 those who talk to one another of God's marvelous 
 works. Never does God forget his people. Always 
 he looks out for their welfare, planning for them, seek- 
 ing to give them his very best, eager to have them 
 come to him and put themselves in his hands, that 
 blessing may be theirs. 
 
 And all he asks of those to whom he wants to give 
 such wonderful blessings is trust. But he wants such 
 absolute trust that we will always be ready to do his 
 bidding without question. 
 
 43 
 
VIII 
 
 DOES GOD GUIDE TO-DAY? 
 
 AN earnest Christian who had known difficulty and 
 -^ ^ trial all through his long life was once asked if 
 he believed in God's guidance. This was his reply : 
 
 " Nothing is truer or surer to me than that God has 
 shown me, through all my days, the way in which I 
 should walk. It has not always been the way in which 
 I wished to walk. Ofttimes he has led me in bitter and 
 painful ways. But now, looking back, I see that he 
 has always shown me the right path. When I have 
 not had my own way, it would have meant disaster if I 
 had. I have not always followed sweetly or cheerfully, 
 nor have I in every case accepted my disappointments 
 with love. But to-day I thank God for every step, for 
 every thwarting of my own will. 
 
 " And I want to say to you that you may absolutely, 
 unquestioningly, and without fear let God show you 
 the way, even though he should lead you through shat- 
 tered hopes and through pain and tears. Some of you 
 have found God's way very strange and mysterious, 
 but you need not be afraid. You sometimes ask, 
 * Lord, can this be thy way ? ' The answer is, ' Yes, my 
 way of wisdom, of love, of goodness, the way to the 
 best things, to glory, to joy, and peace.' 
 
 *' Never doubt that God will lead if you will only 
 take his way. The truest thing in all my life is the 
 
 44 
 
DOES GOD GUIDE TO-DAY? 
 
 companionship of Christ. He is with me in the small- 
 est ways. He orders my steps. He decides for me in 
 the simplest perplexities. He shows me the way in 
 everything. If I were never to speak to you again, I 
 would say that you may make this the prayer of your 
 heart every moment, in every experience : ' Cause me 
 to know the way wherein I should walk,' and his guid- 
 ance will never be wanting, and will never be mis- 
 taken." 
 
 Does God guide his people to-day? Try him, and 
 see. 
 
 45 
 
IX 
 
 BEFORE AND AFTER 
 
 A CHRISTIAN man who was passing through a 
 •^^ period of trial and uncertainty was Hstening to 
 selections played on a neighbor's graphophone. At 
 first he was politely attentive. Soon, however, his 
 perplexing problems reasserted themselves, and he be- 
 came unmindful of what was going on. His head 
 drooped, his eyes had a far-away expression, and there 
 was a look of care on his face. Noting his absorption, 
 and understanding the reason for it, the sympathetic 
 friend who was selecting the records chose the next 
 with the prayer that it would reach his heart. 
 
 As the first notes of '' O Rest in the Lord " sounded, 
 the man seemed to pay no attention. Soon, however, 
 he looked up as if startled. In a moment he was 
 listening intently, eagerly. The strained look left his 
 face, and he sat back comfortably in his chair. When 
 the song ended, he gave a happy sigh and said grate- 
 fully : 
 
 " Oh, but that was good ! That is what I need to 
 do. I must just ' rest in the Lord; ' I must ' wait pa- 
 tiently for him.' I know I have no right to doubt him. 
 It is all going to come out right; I know it will." 
 
 Less than three months from that time he was re- 
 joicing in some of the very disappointments that had 
 paved the way for the great blessings God was then 
 revealing to him. 
 
 46 
 
BEFORE AND AFTER 
 
 In the story of his life Henry Bessemer has told 
 of a series of disappointments which proved to be 
 blessings in disguise. He had devised a stamp to be 
 sold by the English government for use on documents, 
 which could not be counterfeited. On learning that 
 the government was suffering a great loss each year 
 through the misuse of document stamps, he went to 
 the Stamp Officer with his device. The chief, much 
 impressed, offered him a position in the office at a 
 good salary, in return for the assignment of full rights 
 to his invention. He was filled with joy, for the salary 
 would enable him to marry at once. His joy was 
 short-lived, however, for a far simpler method than 
 his own for protecting the stamps came to the atten- 
 tion of the Stamp Officer, and the offer was with- 
 drawn. 
 
 It is not strange that this sudden change in the pros- 
 pects of the young inventor caused temporary de- 
 pression. But he went to work bravely, and soon he 
 realized that the disappointment was a blessing in dis- 
 guise. Instead of burying his talents in a government 
 office, he devoted himself to other inventions which 
 earned for him fame and fortune, and brought great 
 blessing to the world. 
 
 Not many years ago the mother of an American 
 writer of some note became an invalid, requiring con- 
 stant care. With a sigh the daughter gave up her plans 
 for literary work and devoted herself to the invalid. 
 Day after day she wheeled her mother to the fields 
 and the woods. Many times she thought of her neg- 
 lected work, but soon she was so busy investigating 
 moths and butterflies for the edification of her mother 
 
 47 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 that she forgot her disappointment. In a few years 
 she had gathered so much information about the 
 insects that she was able to write a book that was re- 
 ceived at once by scientists as an authority, and when 
 she could resume her interrupted Hterary work the 
 reputation gained through the volume proved of great 
 assistance to her. 
 
 A busy pastor was laid aside by reason of a nervous 
 breakdown and was ordered by his physician to take 
 months of absolute rest. For a time he was discon- 
 solate, but finally he made up his mind to go to Texas 
 and live in the open air. One day his attention was 
 attracted by some ants in his path. He became ab- 
 sorbed in them. For months he continued the investi- 
 gations begun that day, and when the enforced vaca- 
 tion was over he had regained his health, he had laid 
 the foundation for experimental knowledge of ants and 
 spiders that secured for him recognition as the world's 
 greatest authority on certain phases of insect life, and 
 he had a hobby that saved him from further break- 
 down; his usefulness in his chosen calling was thus 
 greatly prolonged. 
 
 It is a simple matter to note after the event how 
 so many blessings have their root in what seemed dis- 
 aster, disappointment, or hardship. Only the man of 
 faith is able to see the coming blessing while he is still 
 in the midst of trial. Only the Christian who has 
 learned the Psalmist's meaning when he said, '* Com- 
 mit thy way unto the Lord, trust also in him, and he 
 shall bring it to pass," can assure himself that it is 
 God's way to bring blessing out of disaster, joy out 
 of disappointment, peace out of trial. 
 
 48 
 
X 
 
 LINKS IN THE CHAIN 
 
 TN 1835 the American Baptists opened a mission in 
 -■• India. Rev. and Mrs. Samuel S. Day were the first 
 missionaries. For eleven years they labored at Madras 
 and Nellore. Results were meager. But they waited 
 in faith, prayed day by day, and proved their faith 
 by their work. In 1846, when the failure of Mr. 
 Day's health compelled them to return home, there 
 were but seven members on the field, and only two of 
 these were Telugus. 
 
 The story of the Telugu Mission by John E. 
 Clough ^ tells what followed : 
 
 " After two years in America, with health restored, 
 Mr. Day asked to be sent back to India. Rev. Lyman 
 Jewett was under appointment and was to go with 
 him. At the annual meeting [of the American Board 
 of Commissioners for Foreign Missions] of 1848 the 
 question was raised why this feeble mission should 
 be continued. Should not these two men be sent to 
 some other more promising field? Mr. Day pleaded 
 for the life of his mission. He knew that his fiock 
 was scattered. Nevertheless, he begged to be sent 
 back. One of the great men of the denomination came 
 forward and helped him. Dr. William R. Williams 
 brought in a report for the committee to which this 
 
 ^ " Social Christianity in the Orient." 
 
 49 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 question had been referred. It had for its keynote, 
 * Destroy it not, for a blessing is in it.' He was one 
 of the first to strike the prophetic note on behalf of 
 the Telugu mission which afterwards became charac- 
 teristic." 
 
 Together Mr. Day and Mr. Jewett labored in faith, 
 year after year. Results were meager. Still there 
 wars no thought of giving up. They wanted to con- 
 tinue work at Nellore, and they looked forward to 
 occupying Ongole, which Mr. Day felt sure would 
 some day be the great center of the mission. Yet they 
 knew well that the absence of definite results would 
 endanger the continuance of the station they were oc- 
 cupying. " Often the Jewetts heard Mr. Day in the 
 solitude of his own room praying aloud for the Telugu 
 Mission, and sometimes words ceased and there were 
 groans as if he were in a travail of soul." 
 
 Five years more passed. Once more Mr. Day's 
 health failed, and he returned to America. He never 
 saw the field again. But he continued to see by faith 
 the results he knew were coming. And Mr. Jewett 
 continued the work in faith. 
 
 A few months after Mr. Day's departure word came 
 to Mr. Jewett that a decision was about to be made to 
 sell the bungalow, give up the mission, and remove 
 him to Burmah. A friend who wrote to him of this 
 asked him, " If the society gives up the mission, what 
 field will you occupy?" The reply of the faith-filled 
 man was inspiring : " Then Lyman Jewett will stay and 
 work by himself with the Telugus." 
 
 A deputation was sent from America to Nellore. 
 They formed an unfavorable opinion, and let it be 
 
 50 
 
LINKS IN THE CHAIN 
 
 known that they were ready to report that the field 
 should be abandoned. At the annual meeting of the 
 Missionary Society in Albany in 1853, the report of 
 the deputation was received, and abandonment seemed 
 certain. 
 
 Finally Dr. Edward Bright rose and " described how 
 the little group of Christian members at Nellore would 
 feel when they learned that American Baptists had 
 abandoned them." He was the one who would have 
 to write the letter to them, he declared. He said it was 
 a task that he did not care to face. He walked up and 
 down the platform repeating despairingly the ques- 
 tion again and again, *' And who shall write the 
 letter?" 
 
 " A large map of Baptist missions was hanging 
 over the pulpit," Mr. Clough said, in telling the story 
 of the meeting. " On one side of the Bay of Bengal 
 was a thick cluster of stars, representing mission sta- 
 tions in Burmah. On the other side was just one star, 
 indicating the Nellore station in the Telugu country. 
 Some one in the heat of argument pointed to it and 
 called it a ' Lone Star.' There was one man in that 
 audience who was touched by the expression ^ Lone 
 Star,' Dr. S. F. Smith, the author of ' My Country, 
 'tis of Thee.' Next morning at his breakfast table 
 Judge Ira Harris asked Dr. Smith's opinion about the 
 question to be decided at the meeting of that morning. 
 Dr. Smith took a slip of paper out of his pocket, on 
 which he had written a poem overnight, and said, ' You 
 have it here.' " 
 
 At the meeting that morning the poem was read with 
 telling effect : 
 
 51 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 Shine on, ' Lone Star ! ' Thy radiance bright 
 
 Shall spread o'er all the eastern sky. 
 Morn breaks apace from gloom and night; 
 
 Shine on, and bless the pilgrim's sight. . . . 
 
 Shine tin, ' Lone Star ! * The day draws near 
 When none shall shine more fair than thou; 
 
 Thou, born and nursed in doubt and fear, 
 Wilt glimmer on Immanuel's brow. 
 
 When the reading of the poem was completed, it 
 was apparent to all that the Telugu Mission was 
 saved. 
 
 To Dr. Jewett in India went a copy of the poem. 
 He carried it about with him and read it frequently. 
 " It was an anchor to his faith." 
 
 A few months after hearing of the Albany meeting 
 he went with his wife and children to Ongole. *' There 
 were some low hills close to Ongole. They decided to 
 go up on one of those hilltops to pray, early the first 
 morning of the new year, 1854. . . . They sang to- 
 gether, they prayed together, one after another. Dr. 
 Jewett stood up and looked over the plain before him, 
 dotted with villages, perhaps fifty of them in full sight, 
 in the radiance of the dawn. He said, ' As the sun is 
 now about to rise and shine upon the earth, so may the 
 Sun of Righteousness arise quickly and shine upon this 
 dark land.' He pointed to a piece of land, all over- 
 grown with cactus, and asked, * Would you not like 
 that spot for our mission bungalow, and all this land 
 to become Christian ? Well, that day will come.' " 
 
 But where was the man whom God would send to 
 the station? He wondered, but as he wondered he 
 quieted himself, for he knew the man would come in 
 God's good time. 
 
 52 
 
LINKS IN THE CHAIN 
 
 Six years more passed. Still there were no visible 
 results of Dr. Jewett's work. At the Baptist Anni- 
 versaries in 1862 a majority felt that abundant time 
 had been given the Telugu Mission to show results. 
 The vote was about to be taken which would 
 mean the death of the work, when Dr. Warren, 
 secretary of the Missionary Society, rose and ex- 
 claimed, '' Wait, brethren, wait ! You know not what 
 you are doing. Wait ; let us hear what Brother 
 Jewett, who is now on his journey home, has to say 
 on this subject." 
 
 When Dr. Jewett arrived he was called before the 
 executive committee of the society. '^ They proposed 
 to him the relinquishment of the Telugu Mission. 
 They found him immovable. His faith told him, 
 ' God has much people among the Telugus.' He had 
 labored among them for fourteen years, and declined 
 to be transplanted to some other field. He meant to 
 live, and if need be, to die, among the Telugus. It is 
 said that Dr. Warren smiled then and answered, 
 ' Well, brother, if you are resolved to return, we must 
 send some one with you to bury you.' " 
 
 And now for the man whom God was preparing for 
 Ongole. 
 
 Less than one year after the beginning of Mr. Day's 
 work in India, John E. Clough was born on a farm in 
 Chautauqua County, New York. The family physician 
 said, as he looked upon him in his cradle, " One con- 
 tinent will be too small to hold that boy." 
 
 A few years later the boy's father moved to Iowa, 
 and John had the experience of a pioneer's son. Later 
 
 53 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 he toiled as a surveyor, and felt that perhaps he had 
 found his life work. 
 
 In 1853, the year of the Albany meeting, when the 
 fate of the Telugu Mission was in the balance, he 
 determined to go to school. He worked for his board 
 at the town hotel, and was frequently left in charge 
 of the guests. He studied hard, determined to learn 
 what would make him a better surveyor. Sometimes 
 he thought that he might become a lawyer. 
 
 In 1857 he entered Burlington University, Iowa. 
 He knew that the school had a theological department, 
 but this did not trouble him : he proposed to give the 
 department a wide berth ; he had no use for ministers 
 or missionaries. 
 
 He was assigned to the room of A. D. McMichael, 
 a Christian man, who on the first evening asked him 
 to join in Bible reading and prayer. " I told him 
 frankly that I was a skeptic, but if such was his habit 
 to go right on, and added, ' I guess I can stand it if 
 you can.' " Mr. Clough wrote, when he was an old 
 man, '' With half an ear I heard my room-mate read 
 his chapter and mention my name in prayer night after 
 night. I felt quite free to say to him that I had no 
 use for this sort of thing." 
 
 Not many weeks passed before the Christian at- 
 mosphere influenced him. " McMichael was stead- 
 fastly continuing his habit of reading his Bible and 
 praying at night before retiring. I knew that other 
 men, teachers and students, whom I was learning to 
 love and esteem more every day, were doing just as 
 McMichael was doing. When trying to study while 
 he was praying I began to feel as if I was showing 
 
 54 
 
LINKS IN THE CHAIN 
 
 disrespect to them all. I had to yield to the pressure. 
 ... In the First Baptist Church of Burlington I was 
 baptized February ii, 1858." 
 
 Friends tried to convince him that he was called to 
 be a minister, but he was reluctant to decide as they 
 wished — in part, perhaps, because as a student for the 
 ministry he would receive partial support. He dared 
 not think of the aid given to students preparing for 
 the ministry: the thought might prove too great a 
 temptation to him during those days of great finan- 
 cial strain when he found it hard to make ends 
 meet. 
 
 Before his graduation, he decided that he ought to 
 become a missionary, but he reconsidered his decision. 
 He was married, and he needed to support his wife. 
 So, when a school was offered to him, he promised to 
 teach. Soon he became a man of influence in the 
 community. At length he thought he saw a chance to 
 advance himself by political methods. While serving 
 as delegate at his county convention, he succeeded in 
 persuading the politicians to nominate men whom he 
 named for several offices. Finally he thought he 
 would ask to be made county surveyor. Most unac- 
 countably the convention turned against him, and 
 named another. 
 
 Ten years later he learned from a Christian man 
 who had been present in the convention the explana- 
 tion of his failure. '^ He saw how I controlled it, com- 
 pelling the men to do as I advocated," Mr. Clough 
 explains. " My career in Burlington was known to 
 him; he recognized the temptation that lay in my 
 capacity for a political career and feared that I would 
 
 55 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 be lost to the ministry. Therefore, as he sat there 
 unobserved, he prayed with all his might for my defeat. 
 When the tide turned against me, he went home and 
 gave thanks to God." 
 
 Still uncertain as to his call to be a missionary, Mr. 
 Clough worked for some time as a colporteur for the 
 American Baptist Publication Society. While in this 
 work he heard Dr. Dean, a missionary in Siam, ap- 
 peal for an associate to return with him to the field. 
 After much self-examination, he decided to offer him- 
 self for the position. 
 
 But when, on August 2, 1864, he met the committee 
 of the Missionary Society, and was asked if he felt 
 drawn to any special country, he answered that he was 
 ready to go wherever he was needed most. Accord- 
 ingly he was told that he was to go with Dr. Jewett to 
 the Telugu Mission. 
 
 At once he became convinced of the reality of his 
 call, and he was so filled with longing to go with Dr. 
 Jewett that when one of the committee said to him, 
 " Suppose, in view of the financial depression, we 
 should have to decide not to send you to the Telugu, 
 what would you do? " *' I should have to find some 
 other way of getting there," was the reply. 
 
 In 1865 he began work in Nellore. Contact with 
 Dr. Jewett filled him with longing for the day of the 
 coming of the multitudes of converts to the mission. 
 He knew they would come. Soon it was said in the 
 mission that " Clough talked wild." He prayed for 
 one hundred converts in 1866. For a time it seemed 
 as if the prayer was not answered. Yet it was not 
 long before the baptism of a man who, during thirty 
 
 56 
 
LINKS IN THE CHAIN 
 
 years, led more than one thousand people to accept 
 Christ. 
 
 Then came the day when word was brought to Nel- 
 lore of a group of people in a village near Ongole who 
 somehow had learned of Christ and wanted a teacher. 
 It was decided that the time had come to occupy 
 Ongole, the town where the prayer meeting on the 
 hill had been held in 1854, when Mr. Clough was at- 
 tending the high school in Iowa. 
 
 Soon it became evident that the men of faith who 
 had prayed for the success of the work among the 
 Telugus were to have their reward, and that it was to 
 come through the efforts of the man of faith whom 
 God had been preparing for leadership in the great 
 task. 
 
 Slowly at first, then more rapidly, the people were 
 reached. They came at first by tens, then by hun- 
 dreds, then by thousands. Mr. Clough was their guide, 
 their shepherd, their helper always. He cared for 
 hundreds who came to the mission compound for in- 
 struction; his experience in the country hotel in Iowa 
 had fitted him for the task of entertainment. He 
 opened schools for the children; his experience as a 
 teacher enabled him to do this work wisely. In the 
 time of the great famine, he acted as surveyor in charge 
 of a three and one-half mile section of a canal built by 
 the government, in order that work might be furnished 
 to the starving; the knowledge of surveying gained 
 when he was a struggling youth in the West was just 
 what he needed then. Even his political experience 
 was helpful, for frequently he had to handle multi- 
 tudes in the most careful manner. 
 
 57 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 In 1878 the vision of the man of faith became 
 actual. Multitudes clamored to come to Christ and 
 would not be denied. On July 2, 614 were baptized; 
 next day the number was 2,222; on July 4, 700 more 
 were baptized — 3,536 in three days. Nearly 9,000 
 came to Christ in less than six weeks. In 1879 the 
 church had 15,000 members, and it became evident 
 that steps must be taken to organize a group of smaller 
 churches where the people could be trained for effective 
 work. 
 
 In 1 88 1 Dr. Smith, whose poem had saved the 
 Telugu Mission in 1853, visited Ongole. His heart was 
 full as he saw what God had wrought through men of 
 faith. When he reached home he wrote these words of 
 triumph : 
 
 " Shine on ! We learn to pray and wait 
 To toil and trust, through thee, — 
 A star of triumph on Christ's brow, 
 And faith's high victory." 
 
 58 
 
THREE 
 FIRST LESSONS 
 
 59 
 
To Him, from wanderings long and wild 
 
 I come, an over-wearied child, 
 
 In cool and shade his face to find, 
 
 Assured that all I know is best. 
 
 And humbly trusting for the rest. 
 
 — John G. Whittier. 
 
 60 
 
XI 
 
 WHEN DANGER THREATENED 
 HER CHILD 
 
 TN one of her books Mrs. Hannah Whitall Smith 
 -*- said that when her son was about eight years old 
 a grave danger threatened him, and she could do 
 absolutely nothing but trust in God. This is the story 
 as she wrote it : 
 
 ** A very wicked man, whom we had been obliged 
 to thwart in some of his wicked purposes in reference 
 to a child in an institution of which we were at the time 
 manager, wrote us a most abusive and threatening 
 letter. In it he declared his intention of taking his 
 revenge on us through our son, by leading him into 
 wickedness and making him as bad as himself. As I 
 read the letter, my heart sank within me. I thought 
 of the thousand ways in which such a threat could be 
 fulfilled, and how powerless we were to prevent it. I 
 was afraid to have my boy out of my sight for a mo- 
 ment, and felt as if we would have to move out of 
 Philadelphia, away to the ends of the earth, anywhere 
 to get out of the reach of this wicked man. But then 
 I realized that even this might not be effectual, and in 
 my despair I fled to the Lord for help. At once there 
 came to me, as a voice from heaven, that blessed prom- 
 ise — ' The angel of the Lord encampeth round about 
 them that fear him, and delivereth them,' with the 
 
 6i 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 assurance that so would the angels encamp around our 
 boy and deliver him from this and every danger. My 
 heart leaped up in happy confidence, as I gave him at 
 once into this blessed guardianship; every fear van- 
 ished, and as I saw him leave the house for school 
 the next morning, I could almost see the cohorts of 
 angels surrounding him on every side. I believe I 
 never again feared any danger for him, so sure was I 
 that the Lord was his defense and his shield on every 
 hand. Who can doubt that God did then and there, 
 according to his word, take the charge of the child 
 thus committed to him in an especial manner, and 
 that from henceforth he encamped round about him 
 continually, leading him safely through all the dangers 
 of life, and landing him now at last unharmed in his 
 heavenly home? " 
 
 62 
 
XII 
 
 BELIEF THAT COUNTS 
 
 /^NCE Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman was asked what he 
 ^^ meant by faith. He replied by saying, " At the 
 foot of the mountains, on the Pacific Coast, there are 
 very strange and very interesting gullies. One can go 
 for miles inland in narrow, canal-like creeks, great 
 fissures in the mountains, into which waves of the 
 Pacific wind for miles, right into the heart of the coun- 
 try. As the steamer goes into the narrow creek, there 
 seems right ahead a rock. Yet there is no swerving 
 of the engine; it seems to some of the passengers as 
 if the vessel must go to pieces on some rocky crag. But 
 there are some passengers who are unconcerned. They 
 see the captain on the bridge, untroubled, though he is 
 driving the vessel straight toward the cliff, and they 
 feel sure that all is well. He must have been that 
 way before, and he knows that all is well. Their faith 
 in him is justified, for suddenly the crag splits, and 
 a waterway is disclosed which leads into the heart of 
 the mountain." 
 
 It is like that in life. People have their times of dis- 
 tress and dismay, when they feel that all is going 
 wrong, and that there is no possible escape for them. 
 Then suddenly the way is disclosed ; they are at peace, 
 and they wonder at their dismay. Faith enables them 
 to trust that all will be well, while they are doing their 
 
 63 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 best. That trust is reasonable, provided it is trust in 
 God, who is all-powerful to keep his people in time of 
 need. 
 
 Some one has told of two children who were stand- 
 ing by the window, watching the hunter's moon come 
 up in all her wonderful splendor. *' Sister, I see God 
 right through that moon," said the boy. The little 
 sister was a practical maiden, and exclaimed in horror, 
 ** Why, you know you can't. That's a wrong story; 
 you know it is." Poor little brother was shocked, too, 
 for a bit. He rallied himself, however, to ask in a pity- 
 ing tone, " Sister, can't you see anything except with 
 your eyes?" '' No, I can't, and you can't either. You 
 know you can't." There is where the difficulty lies. 
 So many can't see anything " except with their eyes," 
 and in their limited vision try to impose the conditions 
 of their poverty upon those about them. 
 
 Whittier impressed that lesson when he wrote : 
 
 Soon or late to all our dwellings come the spectres of the 
 mind, 
 
 Doubts and fears and dread forebodings in the darkness un- 
 defined ; 
 
 Round us throng the grim projections of the heart and of 
 the brain, 
 
 And our pride of strength is weakness, and the cunning hand 
 is vain. 
 
 In the dark we cry like children; and no answer from on 
 
 high 
 Breaks the crystal spheres of silence, and no white wings 
 
 downward fly. 
 But the heavenly help we pray for comes to faith and not 
 
 to sight, 
 And our prayers themselves drive backward all the spirits of 
 
 the night. 
 
 64 
 
XIII 
 
 THE SECRET OF SERENITY 
 
 rAR. FRANCIS L. PATTON has said: "When 
 ^^ the elevated railroad was first started in New 
 York, the people were a little timid about riding on it, 
 so the proprietors of the road took great pleasure in 
 notifying the public of the fact that this road had been 
 subjected to a most abnormal and enormous tonnage, 
 and that consequently people of ordinary weight might 
 deem themselves quite safe in traveling over that road. 
 I feel the same way about the Christ, that I can take 
 my way to heaven above the din and dust of daily life, 
 because this elevated road has had all the world upon 
 it for twenty centuries, and has given no sign of in- 
 stability." 
 
 That is the secret of serenity : complete faith and 
 trust in God, the faith and trust that know that all is 
 well because God is God and God is good, and he is the 
 good God of those who trust in him. 
 
 Mrs. Margaret E. Sangster once told of one of her 
 friends who bore up under a great trial with such sweet 
 serenity that her friends marveled : 
 
 " She told me that day, as we talked, by the fire, how 
 she had gone by herself when her peril was first made 
 known to her, and had decided that it was not just then 
 needful to lay another burden of pain on the heart of 
 
 6s 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 her mother. She had kept to herself, at first, all that 
 the physician had told her, and in communion with her 
 Saviour had found strength, wisdom, and patience. 
 Later it had been her duty to let her knowledge be 
 shared by others, her home people and a few intimate 
 friends; but she had spoken of it so lightly and ac- 
 cepted it so bravely that she had lulled to rest their 
 anxiety on her behalf. ' I know,' she said to me that 
 afternoon, ' that this life of mine must be short, and 
 that the end may come suddenly at any time. Often 
 when I lie down at night I wonder whether the waken- 
 ing will be here or yonder, and in the morning when 
 I open my eyes and see the familiar room, I am glad 
 to stay a little longer with those I love. I have made 
 it a rule to spend the first half hour of each day with 
 the Master in prayer for one and another, and among 
 the names I often mention to him are those who are 
 carrying the heaviest load of care or whom I love most 
 dearly.' " 
 
 This serenity comes to all those who learn to talk to 
 God and listen to hear his messages given to them as 
 they read the Bible; and this serenity cannot be dis- 
 turbed for long by any circumstance unless they forget 
 these things. It is with them as it was with the woman 
 of whom George MacDonald wrote in one of his novels. 
 A friend was trying to show her that her faith was 
 not well grounded, as he said: 
 
 " But if you had sons at sea, it would not be of 
 much good to you to feel safe yourself so long as they 
 were in danger." 
 
 '' Oh, yes, it be, sir. What's the good of feeling 
 safe yourself, but it let you know other people be safe, 
 
 66 
 
THE SECRET OF SERENITY 
 
 too? It's when you don't feel safe yourself that you 
 feel other people be n't safe." 
 
 " But some of your sons were drowned, for all that 
 you say about safety." 
 
 " Well, sir," she answered with a sigh, " I trust they 
 are none the less safe for that. It would be a strange 
 thing for an old woman like me to suppose that safety 
 lay in not being drowned. . . . What is the bottom of 
 the sea, sir? " 
 
 '' The hollow of his hand," I said, and said no 
 more. 
 
 Spurgeon thus put the truth in homely phrase: 
 
 " When troubles come it is no use to fly in the face 
 of God by hard thoughts of Providence — that is, kick- 
 ing against the pricks and hurting your feet. The 
 trees bow in the wind, and so must we. Every time 
 the sheep bleats it loses a mouthful; and every time we 
 complain we miss a blessing. Grumbling is a bad 
 trade and yields no profit; but patience has a golden 
 hand. Our evils will soon be over. After rain comes 
 clear shining; black crows have wings; every winter 
 turns to spring; every night breaks into morning. 
 If one door be shut, God will open another; if the 
 peas do not yield well, the beans may; yon hen leaves 
 her eggs, another will bring out all her brood; there 
 is a bright side to all things and a good God every- 
 where. Somewhere or other in the worst flood of 
 trouble there always is a dry spot for contentment to 
 get its foot on, and if there were not, it would learn 
 to swim." 
 
 67 
 
XIV 
 
 FROM MOHAMMED TO CHRIST 
 
 TN the fall of 1910 the Superintendent of the Nile 
 •*• Mission Press, in Egypt, was praying that God 
 would send him a converted Moslem who would act 
 as his literary helper. 
 
 Early in 191 1 the prayer was answered in the com- 
 ing of an Arab sheik whose remarkable story has 
 been told by Arthur T. Upson,^ the man who made 
 the prayer. 
 
 The sheik was the son of a well-to-do man, and 
 was born on the island of Aradu. He was given every 
 opportunity to receive a thorough education in accord- 
 ance with the customs of his people. But, being an 
 independent thinker, he was not content to receive with- 
 out inquiry and investigation the tenets of the Moham- 
 medan religion as these were made known to him. Be- 
 ing dissatisfied with the dogmas to which his people 
 had been accustomed, he turned from them and began 
 to make investigation elsewhere. One day he heard a 
 street preacher in Beirut give the invitation to those 
 that are heavy laden to come to Christ. 
 
 Fearing that the sheik would become a Christian, 
 his father pleaded with him to be faithful to the teach- 
 ings of the Koran. A company of sheiks visited him 
 at his home and searched the box in which he kept his 
 ^ In " The Missionary Review of the World." 
 
 68 
 
FROM MOHAMMED TO CHRIST 
 
 books. One of them was a Bible, which was taken. 
 The covers were torn off, it was soaked in paraffin, 
 and then burned. 
 
 To his sorrow, the young man yielded to the threats 
 of those who declared that unless he denied his Chris- 
 tianity he would not be allowed to see his father and 
 his friends. 
 
 For a long time he wavered between the two re- 
 ligions. Often he made the prayer : 
 
 " Oh, God, I turn to thee from error. I wash my- 
 self in the blood of the Redeemer, and I know that 
 thou dost receive my repentance. Establish the faith 
 in my heart and make it grow. Sanctify it, that it 
 may be a dwelling place for thee, and graciously guide 
 the wandering lambs to the right fold of thy holiness. 
 Lead my brother Moslems to the right path. Amen." 
 
 The day came when he surrendered finally to God. 
 From a friend he secured another copy of the Scrip- 
 tures. Fearing that he would not be permitted to wor- 
 ship God in his own land, he asked a Greek priest to 
 baptize him, purposing to leave at once for a safe 
 haven. But his plans were interrupted by his arrest, 
 on the charge that he had become a Christian. 
 
 As the police led him through the streets, a fanatical 
 mob cried out for his blood, but he was not disturbed. 
 He says: 
 
 " I waited a moment to ask power from God, and 
 courage. At that moment my sadness was changed 
 into joy, my depression into gladness, and my weak- 
 ness into strength. ... All the way I was praising 
 God for the tranquillity he was giving me." 
 
 Word of the arrest was sent to Constantinople, and 
 
 69 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 Sultan Abdul-Hamid ordered that he be sent back to 
 his native town, and not be allowed to leave without 
 permission. 
 
 At home, he was confined closely to his father's 
 house. His Bible was destroyed. He became so weak 
 that a physician was sent for. To him, a Christian, 
 the plea was made for a Bible, and this was brought 
 to him. 
 
 After some months the writing of a poem in praise 
 of an official who stood high in favor with the Sultan 
 brought about his release. Going to Damascus, he 
 joined the Young Turks, his purpose being to secure 
 religious liberty for himself and others like himself. 
 But he soon found that his political associations re- 
 acted unfavorably on his Christian life, and he re- 
 gretted the step he had taken. 
 
 After a year or two he went to Latakia, where his 
 wife and son followed him. There he opened a pri- 
 mary school. He was at Latakia when the political 
 trouble culminated in the deposition of Sultan Abdul- 
 Hamid and the accession of Sultan Mohammed the 
 Fifth. 
 
 Christians were in special danger during this time 
 of uprising and change. The sheik learned of one 
 plot against them and earned the gratitude of the 
 Bishop of the Orthodox Greeks by warning him of the 
 danger of his people. Then he was able to call on 
 the ambassadors of the various European Powers for 
 aid, and the danger was averted. 
 
 But the enemies of the sheik determined to pun- 
 ish him. They made false accusations against him, 
 and succeeded in having him arrested. The officers 
 
 70 
 
FROM MOHAMMED TO CHRIST 
 
 came for him at the dinner hour in the school of which 
 he was the teacher. He was not informed of the 
 charge against him, but was dragged away from his 
 wife and his son. 
 
 While he was detained under guard, a man whom 
 the sheik described as one of the consuls sought him 
 and told him he would lead him out of the room, as 
 a reward for the information given to the Bishop of 
 the intention of the mob to kill the Christians. But 
 the sheik refused to permit the consul to lead him 
 to safety, as he felt that his conductor's life would 
 be in serious danger. " I will rather be killed myself," 
 he said, " than that a drop of innocent blood should be 
 shed. I have surrendered my case to the justice of 
 God. Let his will be done." 
 
 That evening he was handcuffed and taken to a 
 steamer, to be carried to Beirut. On the steamer 
 the consul appeared and helped him secure from the 
 pocket of the drunken policeman who accompanied him 
 the letter to the Sultan, in which the accusation was 
 made that he was the one who had incited the attack 
 on the Christians which had failed by reason of his 
 own information to the Bishop! 
 
 "As soon as I read this letter," the sheik said, 
 in telling the story of his life, " and understood from 
 its contents that it was pure fabrication, and having 
 trusted in God who cares for his people, having re- 
 gard for his omniscience and his answer to prayer, I 
 knelt before God to answer my prayer that he would 
 make my case clear to those in authority." 
 
 He was urged to escape from the vessel at a Euro- 
 pean port, as the charge against him was serious, but 
 
 71 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 he insisted that the case '* was a simple one by the help 
 of God." 
 
 At Beirut he made a friend of the magistrate, who 
 was convinced of his innocence. Regretfully the 
 magistrate said he could not release him, as he wished 
 to do, for word had already been sent of the prisoner's 
 coming to Constantinople. 
 
 In speaking of the kindness shown him by this 
 man, the sheik said : " He was a humane man, but do 
 not forget that God is the most just and the most mer- 
 ciful, and since he is merciful to those who trust in 
 him, he clears the way for them, especially if the 
 trusting one should be suffering injury." 
 
 A few hours after his arrival at Constantinople he 
 was triumphantly acquitted and released. He hurried 
 to Beirut, and from there went to his birthplace. A 
 message was sent to his family to join him there as 
 soon as possible. They had been suffering much per- 
 secution at the hands of the enemies who had suc- 
 ceeded in bringing about his arrest. 
 
 As soon as possible, he went to Egypt, taking with 
 him his son. There he found employment in the Nile 
 Mission Press. While he was absent from his room, 
 seeking work, his son was persuaded to leave home by 
 those who hated the father for his Christian faith. A 
 forged paper was shown the boy which purported to 
 be a confession signed by his father, as follows : 
 
 " When all means of livelihood were shut in my face 
 wherever I went among the Moslems, and I found 
 no possibility of earning a living except by pretending 
 to become a Christian, and when the Christians made 
 me hear the chink of coins and said, ' Declare your 
 
 ^2 
 
FROM MOHAMMED TO CHRIST 
 
 belief in the Trinity and take the money,' I said, * Give 
 me the money, and if you wish I will not only triple 
 but quadruple, for from my early days I have never 
 cared for any religion at all ! " 
 
 The paper was read to him by the man who had 
 fabricated it. The man pretended sorrow for his deed 
 and asked him to enter his house. The invitation was 
 refused, for the sheik recalled the teaching of the 
 Koran, '' Whosoever changeth his religion, kill him." 
 
 " Then I left him in haste, asking God to protect 
 me," the persecuted Christian says. 
 
 After his baptism the sheiks approached him once 
 more with all sorts of trials. He took away their 
 breath by saying to them : 
 
 *' The happiest and most blessed hour of my life will 
 be the time in which I am killed — a martyr; for I 
 shall then go straight to heaven, to be with Christ in 
 the eternal glory. I do not think, however, that God 
 will allow you to do this, for it is his purpose that I 
 should serve the Moslems while a Christian, even as 
 I used to serve them while a Moslem." 
 
 When the runaway son arrived in Syria, some of 
 those to whom he gave the word that his father had 
 become a Christian wrote to ask the sheik his rea- 
 sons for taking the step. In reply, he wrote out a Con- 
 fession of Faith, which he printed and sent to those 
 who had written to him. 
 
 His wife wrote to ask for traveling expenses. She 
 said she wished to come to him. But when she tried 
 to leave home, she was prevented. When the sheik 
 learned of this, he asked Christian friends to pray 
 with him that he might have his wife and son with him 
 
 73 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 once more. The united prayers so strengthened his 
 faith that when his wife asked him a second time for 
 expense money, he sent it to her. This time she was 
 able to go to him, with her son. 
 
 In closing his story this convert from Mohammedan- 
 ism said: 
 
 " As for my family, my wife now believes that 
 Christ is the greatest of all the prophets, and she has 
 seen already many answers to her prayers asked in his 
 name. May God continue his work in her heart by his 
 great grace, that her faith may be built upon a firm 
 foundation. My boy ran away to Syria on two occa- 
 sions, but I trust that God will prevent its happening 
 again. At present he is learning the trade of carpen- 
 tering. God is able to guide him to himself. 
 
 " I ask our gracious God, in the name of our be- 
 loved Saviour, to keep us steadfast in the true faith, 
 that grace may grow in our hearts more and more, that 
 we may be enabled to save many of our fellow men for 
 the holy kingdom of him who is the Way, the Truth, 
 and the Life. Amen." 
 
 74 
 
XV 
 
 IN SCHOOL WITH CHRIST 
 
 "ITT'HEN J. Hudson Taylor, the founder of the 
 ^^ China Inland Mission, decided as to the char- 
 acter of his life work, he planned to prepare for it 
 not only by taking a medical course, but by accus- 
 toming himself to hardness and economy, so that he 
 might be able to bear with grace the trying conditions 
 of the life before him. 
 
 But, as he proposed to go out in dependence on God 
 alone for protection, supplies, and help of every kind, 
 he felt that his spiritual muscles required strengthen- 
 ing for such an undertaking. 
 
 '' There was no doubt," he said,^ " that if faith did 
 not fail, God would not fail; but, then, what if one's 
 faith should prove insufficient ? I had not at that time 
 learned that even ' if we believe not, he abideth faith- 
 ful, he cannot deny himself ' ; and it was consequently 
 a very serious question to my mind, not whether he 
 was faithful, but whether I had strong enough faith 
 to warrant my embarking in the enterprise set be- 
 fore me. 
 
 '' I thought to myself, ' When I get out to China, 
 I shall have no claim on anyone for anything; my only 
 claim will be on God. How important, therefore, to 
 
 'In "A Retrospect." 
 
 75 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 learn before leaving England to move man, through 
 God, by prayer alone.' 
 
 " On settling up my weekly accounts one Saturday 
 night, I found myself possessed of only a single coin — 
 one half-crov^n piece. 
 
 " That Sunday v^as a very happy one. As usual my 
 heart v^as full, and brimming over with blessing. 
 After attending Divine service in the morning, my 
 afternoons and evenings were filled with gospel work 
 in the various lodging houses I was accustomed to 
 visit in the lowest part of the town. At such times it 
 almost seemed to me as if heaven were begun below, 
 and that all that could be looked for was an enlarge- 
 ment of one's capacity for joy, not a truer filling than 
 I possessed. After concluding my last service about 
 ten o'clock that night, a poor man asked me to go and 
 pray with his wife, saying that she was dying. I 
 readily agreed, and on the way to his house asked him 
 why he had not sent for the priest, as his accent told 
 me he was an Irishman. He had done so, he said, but 
 the priest refused to come without a payment of 
 eighteenpence, which the man did not possess, as the 
 family was starving. Immediately it occurred to my 
 mind that all the money I had in the world was the 
 solitary half-crown, and that it was in one coin; more- 
 over, that while the basin of water gruel I usually 
 took for supper was awaiting me, and there was suffi- 
 cient in the house for breakfast in the morning, I cer- 
 tainly had nothing for dinner on the coming day. 
 
 " Somehow or other there was at once a stoppage in 
 the flow of joy in my heart; but instea4 of reproving 
 myself I began to reprove the poor man, telling him 
 
 76 
 
IN SCHOOL WITH CHRIST 
 
 that it was very wrong to have allowed matters to get 
 into such a state as he described, and that he ought to 
 have applied to the relieving officer. His answer was 
 that he had done so, and was told to cpme at eleven 
 o'clock the next morning, but that he feared his wife 
 might not live through the night. * Ah,' thought I, 
 ' if only I had two shillings and a sixpence instead 
 of this half-crown, how gladly would I give these poor 
 people one shilling of it ! ' But to part with the half- 
 crown was far from my thoughts. I little dreamed 
 that the real truth of the matter simply was that I 
 could trust in God plus one-and-sixpence, but that 
 I was not yet prepared to trust him only, without any 
 money at all in my pocket. 
 
 " My conductor led me into a court, down which I 
 followed him with some degree of nervousness. I 
 had found myself there before, and at my last visit 
 had been very roughly handled, while my tracts were 
 torn to pieces, and I received such a warning not to 
 come again that I felt more than a little concerned. 
 Still, it was the path of duty, and I followed on. Up 
 a miserable flight of stairs, into a wretched room, he 
 led me; and oh, what a sight there presented itself to 
 our eyes ! Four or five poor children stood about, their 
 sunken cheeks and temples all telling unmistakably the 
 story of slow starvation; and lying on a wretched pal- 
 let was a poor exhausted mother, with a tiny infant 
 thirty-six hours old, moaning rather than crying at 
 her side, for it too seemed spent and failing. ' Ah,' 
 thought I, 'if I had two shillings and a sixpence in- 
 stead of half-a-crown, how gladly should they have 
 one-and-sixpence of it ! ' But still a wretched unbe- 
 
 77 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 lief prevented me from obeying the impulse to relieve 
 their distress at the cost of all I possessed. 
 
 " It will scarcely seem strange that I was unable to 
 say much to comfort these poor people. I needed com- 
 fort myself. I began to tell them, however, that they 
 must not be cast down, that though their circumstances 
 were very distressing, there was a kind and loving 
 Father in heaven; but something within me said, ' You 
 hypocrite! telling these unconverted people about a 
 kind and loving Father in heaven, and not prepared 
 yourself to trust him without half-a-crown ! ' I was 
 nearly choked. How gladly would I have compro- 
 mised with conscience if I had had a florin and a six- 
 pence! I would have given the florin thankfully and 
 kept the rest; but I was not yet prepared to trust in 
 God alone, without the sixpence. 
 
 '' To talk was impossible under these circumstances; 
 yet, strange to say, I thought I should have no diffi- 
 culty in praying. Prayer was a delightful occupation 
 to me in those days; time thus spent never seemed 
 wearisome, and I knew nothing of lack of words. I 
 seemed to think that all I should have to do would be 
 to kneel down and engage in prayer, and that relief 
 would come to them and to myself together. ^ You 
 asked me to come and pray with your wife,' I said to 
 the man; * let us pray.' And I knelt down. But 
 scarcely had I opened my lips with ' Our Father who 
 art in heaven ' than conscience said within, * Dare you 
 mock God ? Dare you kneel down and call him Father 
 with that half-crown in your pocket? ' Such a time of 
 conflict came upon me then as I have never experienced 
 before or since. How I got through that form of 
 
 78 
 
IN SCHOOL WITH CHRIST 
 
 prayer I know not, and whether the words uttered were 
 connected or disconnected I cannot tell; but I arose 
 from my knees in great distress of mind. 
 
 " The poor father turned to me and said, ' You see 
 what a terrible state we are in, sir; if you can help us, 
 for God's sake do.' Just then the word flashed into 
 my mind, ' Give to him that asketh of thee,' and in the 
 word of a King there is power. I put my hand into 
 my pocket, and slowly drawing forth the half-crown, 
 gave it to the man, telling him that it might seem a 
 small matter for me to relieve them, seeing that I was 
 comparatively well off, but that in parting with that 
 coin I was giving him my all ; what I had been trying 
 to tell him was indeed true — God really was a Father, 
 and might be trusted. The joy all came back in full 
 flood tide to my heart; I could say anything and feel 
 it then, and the hindrance to blessing was gone — gone, 
 I trust, forever. 
 
 " Not only was the poor woman's life saved, but I 
 realized that my life was saved too! It might have 
 been a wreck — would have been a wreck probably, as 
 a Christian life — had not grace at that time conquered, 
 and the striving of God's Spirit been obeyed. I well 
 remember how that night, as I went home to my lodg- 
 ings, my heart was as light as my pocket. The lonely, 
 deserted streets resounded with a hymn of praise which 
 I could not restrain. When I took my basin of gruel 
 before retiring, I would not have exchanged it for a 
 prince's feast. I reminded the Lord as I knelt at my 
 bedside of his own Word, that he who giveth to the 
 poor lendeth to the Lord; I asked him not to let my 
 loan be a long one, or I should have no dinner next 
 
 79 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 day ; and with peace within and peace without, I spent 
 a happy, restful night. 
 
 " Next morning for breakfast my plate of por- 
 ridge remained, and before it was consumed the post- 
 man's knock was heard at the door. I was not in the 
 habit of receiving letters on Monday, as my parents 
 and most of my friends refrained from posting on 
 Saturday; so that I was somewhat surprised when the 
 landlady came in holding a letter or packet in her wet 
 hand covered by her apron. I looked at the letter, but 
 could not make out the handwriting. It was either 
 a strange hand or a feigned one, and the postmark was 
 blurred. Where it came from I could not tell. On 
 opening the envelope I found nothing written within; 
 but inside a sheet of blank paper was folded a pair 
 of kid gloves, from which, as I opened them in aston- 
 ishment, half-a-sovereign fell to the ground. ' Praise 
 the Lord ! ' I exclaimed ; ' four hundred per cent, for 
 twelve hours' investment ; that is good interest. How 
 glad the merchants of Hull would be if they could 
 lend their money at such a rate ! ' I then and there 
 determined that a bank which could not break should 
 have my savings or earnings, as the case might be — a 
 determination I have not yet learned to regret." 
 
 In concluding the story Mr. Taylor added : " I cannot 
 tell you how often my mind has recurred to this inci- 
 dent, or all the help it has been to me in circumstances 
 of difficulty in after life. If we are faithful to God 
 in little things, we shall gain experience and strength 
 that will be helpful to us in the more serious trials of 
 life." 
 
 Another lesson in faith was learned years later when 
 80 
 
IN SCHOOL WITH CHRIST 
 
 he was planning to go to China with other missionaries 
 who had volunteered in answer to prayer. AppHca- 
 tion was made to the leading missionary societies to 
 undertake the support of the company, but in vain. 
 Some friends told him this meant that he must delay 
 his departure. However, he felt he must go at once, 
 as the need was great. Then he thought, " If you 
 see these matters more clearly than others, why not go 
 forward yourself and trust God to accomplish his pur- 
 pose through you? What is to hinder?" 
 
 What followed is told by Marshall Broomhall,^ quot- 
 ing Mr. Taylor. 
 
 *' I saw that in answer to prayer the workers needed 
 would certainly be given, and their support secured 
 because asked for in the precious name of Jesus, 
 which is worthy; but there a trembling unbelief 
 crept in. 
 
 '' ' Suppose that workers are given,' I asked myself 
 doubtfully, ' and that they succeed even in reaching in- 
 land China; what then? Trials will surely come; such 
 conflicts, perhaps, as they have never dreamed of at 
 home. Their faith may fail, and they may even be 
 tempted to reproach one for having brought them into 
 such a plight. Have I strength and ability to cope with 
 such difficulties as these ? ' 
 
 "And the answer, of course, was always *No!' 
 It was just a bringing in of self through unbelief, 
 the devil getting one to feel that, while prayer and 
 faith might lead one into the dilemma, one would be 
 left to get out of it as best one might. And I failed 
 entirely to see that the Power that would give the 
 
 ' In " Faith and Facts." 
 
 8i 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 laborers would be sufficient also to sustain them, under 
 any circumstances, no matter how trying/' 
 
 '' Week after week the conflict went on, until at last 
 the pressure upon mind and soul became so intense that 
 sleep forsook him, and it seemed as if reason itself 
 must fail. Rest was impossible day or night." 
 
 " How inconsistent unbelief always is," Mr. Taylor 
 continues. " I had no doubt that if I prayed for 
 fellow workers they would be given me. I had no 
 doubt that in answer to prayer the means for going 
 forth would also be supplied, and that doors would be 
 opened before us in unreached parts of the Empire. 
 But I had not then learned to trust God fully for keep- 
 ing power and grace for myself, so it was not much to 
 be wondered at that I found a difficulty in trusting 
 him to keep any others who might be led to go out 
 with me." 
 
 *' Summer succeeded spring, and by this time the 
 burden upon his mind began seriously to affect Mr. 
 Taylor's health," Mr. Broomhall added. '' Mr. George 
 Pearse, seeing how worn and weary Mr. Taylor was 
 looking, pressed him to come down to Brighton and 
 take a rest by the sea. This kind invitation was gladly 
 accepted, though it seemed more than doubtful whether 
 the change of scene would bring any relief of heart. 
 
 " Sunday morning came, June 25, and to the music 
 of bells, borne far and wide upon the peaceful air, hun- 
 dreds of happy churchgoers thronged the quiet streets. 
 But there was one burdened soul that could not join 
 the multitudes on their way to the house of God. The 
 all-absorbing realization in Mr. Taylor's mind, that 
 seemed to darken with its shadow every thought of 
 
 82 
 
IN SCHOOL WITH CHRIST 
 
 brighter things, was still that of the need of the vast 
 land to which his life was given. 
 
 '' In distress of mind that seemed to have reached 
 its climax, he left the quiet house and went down the 
 hill to the forsaken beach. It was a lovely summer 
 morning; the tide was out; and far away upon the 
 silent sands he met the crisis of his life, alone with 
 God. 
 
 " At first there was no light, and the conflict was 
 intense. The only ray of comfort he could obtain was 
 from the strange reflection : ' Well, if God, in answer to 
 prayer, does give a band of men for inland China, and 
 they go and reach those distant regions, and if the 
 worst should come to the worst, and they all die of 
 starvation even, they will all go straight to heaven; 
 and if only one heathen soul is saved it would be 
 well worth while.' But the thought was agony; for 
 still he could not see that God, if he gave the laborers, 
 would be sure to keep them, even in inland China. 
 
 " All at once, however, came the further thought : 
 * Why burdened thus? If you are simply obeying 
 God, all the responsibility must rest with him, and 
 not with you.' 
 
 ** ' Very well,' was the immediate, glad reply ; * thou, 
 Lord, shalt be responsible for them, and for me too! ' 
 And the burden from that moment was all gone. 
 
 ** Then and there Mr. Taylor surrendered himself 
 to God for this service, and lifted up his heart in 
 prayer for fellow laborers — two for each of the inland 
 provinces, and two for Mongolia. His Bible was in 
 his hand; and there upon the margin of the precious 
 volume he at once recorded the momentous transaction 
 
 83 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 that had taken place between his soul and God. Few 
 and simple are the words he uses ; but oh, how full of 
 meaning ! 
 
 '* ' Prayed for twenty- four willing, skillful laborers, 
 at Brighton, June 25, 1865. 
 
 " ' How restfully I turned away from the shore,' he 
 adds, ' when this was done. The conflict was all ended. 
 Peace and gladness filled my soul.' " 
 
 84 
 
FOUR 
 THE JUSTIFICATION OF FAITH 
 
 85 
 
Fain would I hold my lamp of life aloft, 
 Like yonder tower built high above the reef ; 
 
 Steadfast, though tempests rave or winds blow soft, 
 Clear, though the sky dissolve in tears of grief. 
 
 For darkness passes; storms shall not abide. 
 
 A little patience, and the fog is past. 
 After the sorrow of the ebbing tide, 
 
 The singing flood returns in joy at last. 
 
 The night is long, and pain weighs heavily; 
 
 But God will hold his world above despair. 
 Look to the east, where up the lucid sky 
 
 The morning climbs ! The day shall yet be fair. 
 
 — Celia Thaxter. 
 
 86 
 
XVI 
 
 IN TIME OF DOUBT 
 
 ^T^HERE are those who claim to have faith in God, 
 "■- yet deny the faith by an attitude of doubt and 
 fear. Faith that is worthy the name puts an end to 
 fear. 
 
 When John Bunyan wrote of the experience of the 
 pilgrim of his dream, who, wearied and sleeping by 
 the wayside, was captured by Giant Despair and im- 
 prisoned in Doubting Castle, from which he escaped 
 only with great difficulty, he was picturing the experi- 
 ence of every Christian who permits himself to be a 
 slave to his doubts. 
 
 He had himself learned the bitter sorrow caused by 
 such doubts, for in his early Christian life he was dis- 
 turbed by thoughts of his own unworthiness. " Who 
 was he that God should care for him? " his biographer 
 Froude records his thoughts. '' He fancied that he 
 heard God saying to the angels : * This poor, simple 
 wretch doth hanker after me as if I had nothing to 
 do with my mercy but to bestow it on such as he. Poor 
 fool, how art thou deceived? It is not for such as 
 thee to have favor with the Highest ! ' " 
 
 Of doubts which came at a still later period, Bunyan 
 himself wrote: "What floods of blasphemies against 
 God, Christ, and the Scriptures were poured upon my 
 spirit; questions against the very being of God and 
 
 87 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 his only beloved Son, as whether there was in truth 
 a God or Christ or no, and whether the Holy Scrip- 
 tures were not rather a fable and cunning story than 
 the holy and pure word of God. ' How can you tell,' 
 the tempter whispered, ' but that the Turks have as 
 good a scripture to prove their Mahomet the Saviour 
 as we have to prove our Jesus is ? ' Could I think that 
 so many tens of thousands in so many countries and 
 kingdoms should be without the knowledge of the right 
 way to heaven — if there were, indeed, a heaven and 
 that we who lie in a corner of the earth should be 
 alone blessed therewith ? Everyone doth think his own 
 religion the rightest — both Jews, Moors, and pagans; 
 and how if all our faith and Christ and scripture 
 should be but a ' think so,' too ? " 
 
 When Bunyan was in Bedford jail because he would 
 preach the gospel, he had a hard time, but he did not 
 despair because of it. Thus he had the best possible 
 preparation, when writing *' The Pilgrim's Progress," 
 for telling others how to resist despondency. In fact, 
 he conquered his difficulties by making them serve his 
 purposes. When most men would have be^n regretting 
 the lost opportunities for active labor, he was busily 
 engaged in writing a book which would probably never 
 have seen the light if it had not been for his mis- 
 fortunes. 
 
 In his book he pictured the Slough of Despond, a 
 morass into which Christian fell while he was on the 
 way from the City of Destruction. Everything seemed 
 against him as he struggled in the ooze, and he was 
 tempted to give up the fight. But he struggled with his 
 difficulties, and overcame them. 
 
 88 
 
IN TIME OF DOUBT 
 
 The Slough of Despond lies in the path of every 
 Christian, and they are few who do not fall into it. 
 The young Christian is especially apt to give way to 
 doubts as he asks himself: ''I wonder if I haven't 
 undertaken too much?" ''Perhaps I have deceived 
 myself, and I am not a Christian at all," another thinks. 
 *' My sins are too great for forgiveness," is the fear of 
 a third, while a fourth feels that his circumstances are 
 so peculiar that it is impossible for him to live a 
 Christian life. 
 
 " Why did you not look for the steps ? " Christian 
 was asked when the Slough was finally left behind him. 
 A way had been provided for him, but he did not see it ; 
 he was too heedless. That is the difficulty to-day. The 
 descent into doubt and despondency comes because 
 of heedlessness. A way has been provided for safe 
 passage when courage is faint and fears take pos- 
 session of the mind. The steps on the way are marked 
 by the promises and precepts of God's Word. So the 
 cure for despondency is to be found in turning to that 
 Word, or in mentally reviewing promises like, '' Lo, 
 I am with you always," " I will not leave you com- 
 fortless," and '* When thou passest through the waters 
 I will be with thee." On these promises men may 
 stand safely, no matter what the dangers, fancied or 
 real, about them. 
 
 The honest struggler is not left to his own resources. 
 God is ever ready to stretch out a helping hand to 
 those who will own that they are powerless themselves. 
 The man named Help was sent to Bunyan's hero, and 
 help will just as certainly be given to everyone who 
 asks for it. 
 
 89 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 It is perfectly safe to tell God all our doubts and 
 fears, but we should be wary of talking too much 
 about them to others. It is often easy to shake the 
 faith even of those who seem to be strong Christians. 
 Shall we drag them down with us ? Dare we take the 
 risk ? The Psalmist decided that he could not. " If 
 I had said, I will speak thus, behold I had dealt 
 treacherously with the generation of thy children." 
 Then he suggested a safer, surer cure. He went to 
 the house of God, and there in prayer and praise his 
 doubts were all solved. 
 
 From the house of God let the doubter go out to 
 serve his fellows. " I am losing my faith in God," 
 was the plaint of a young man. His wise pastor 
 seemed to pay no heed to his words ; he only asked him 
 to keep an eye on a boy who needed constant help and 
 counsel. A month later the pastor asked the young 
 man, '^ How about your doubts now?" "I have 
 entirely forgotten that I ever had any doubts," was 
 the answer. 
 
 Hannah Whitall Smith once called attention thus to 
 the fact that Bunyan's doubts, of which he told so 
 vividly in both biography and allegory, are known to 
 all: " We, all of us, remember, doubtless, our childish 
 fascination, and yet horror, in the story of Christian's 
 imprisonment in Doubting Castle, with the wicked 
 Giant Despair, and our exultant sympathy in his escape 
 through those massive gates from that cruel tyrant. 
 Little did we suspect that we would ever find ourselves 
 taken prisoner by the same giant, and imprisoned in 
 the same castle. But I fear that each one of us, if we 
 were perfectly honest, would have to confess to at least 
 
 90 
 
IN TIME OF DOUBT 
 
 one such experience, and some of us, perhaps, to a 
 great many." 
 
 It was a favorite expression of D. L. Moody that 
 the cure for doubt is Christian work, '' for," he said, 
 " the men who work are rarely men who doubt." 
 When he was asked what a young man should do who 
 believed that Jesus lived the ideal life, but doubted his 
 supernatural origin and being, he said : " Tell him to 
 put all his time in imitation of the life, and be so busy 
 imitating that there will be no time to doubt." 
 
 The way to silence doubts adopted by a simple- 
 minded country woman proved effective in her case; 
 her example is worth imitating. To her pastor, who 
 greeted her one day, " Hoo is it wi' you the day, 
 Janet ? " she replied, *' The adversary's been at me 
 again." " And what's he been sayin' to you ? " " He's 
 been sayin', ' It's a' a delusion; the Bible a tissue of 
 lies : there is no heaven an' no hell; there's no Saviour; 
 it's a' a delusion.'" "And what did you answer?" 
 " Ah, minister, I kent better than that. I kent it 
 was nae use to argy wi' him; I just referred him to the 
 Lord." 
 
 You have some mountain of difficulty in your way? 
 You feel that it cannot be removed? Then you have 
 not tried faith. Have faith in God, and you will find 
 in your hands a lever that will move the world. 
 
 In every time of doubt and temptation, of fear and 
 anxiety, of grief and anguish, we may, if we will, hear 
 the message of the Master, " It is I; be not afraid." 
 The disciples heard it when they were in peril on the 
 sea, and their fears vanished. Why do we not hearken 
 as they did ? 
 
 91 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 It is said that a poor colored woman was asked by 
 her mistress, '' Nancy, suppose that you should have 
 a spell of sickness, and be unable to work: or sup- 
 pose '' " Stop ! " was the eager reply. " I neber 
 
 supposes. De Lord is my shepherd, and I knows I 
 shall not want, and honey, it's all dem supposes as is 
 makin' you so mis'able. You'd better give dem all up, 
 and just trust de Lord." 
 
 Clinton Scollard gave a needed lesson when he said : 
 
 Doubt digged a fortress deep and dim, 
 
 Guarded by mote and ravelin ; 
 And, having fettered every limb, 
 
 He dungeoned me therein. 
 
 Then victor Faith's illumining star 
 
 Shone in upon my black despair, 
 And back flew rivet, bolt and bar. 
 
 And I was free as air. 
 
 92 
 
XVII 
 
 THEY CAUGHT THE SHIP 
 
 TN 1901 the Australian Council of the China Inland 
 -'' Mission wished to send a party of seven missionary 
 recruits from Sydney. Not only did they wish to send 
 them, but they decided to send them on December 17. 
 They felt that this was what God wished them to do, 
 and that therefore the means would be provided. They 
 proposed to do their part : their faith that God would 
 do his part was firm. 
 
 The story of the justification of their faith has 
 been told by Marshall Broomhall '} 
 
 " The advertised day of sailing arrived, but enough 
 money had not been received to pay the passages. 
 The boat was postponed for two days, and on Wednes- 
 day a special meeting of the Council in Melbourne was 
 called for prayer, to lay once more the whole matter 
 before the Lord. Afterwards a sum of money was re- 
 ceived sufficient to complete the payment of five pas- 
 sages. Thursday dawned, and a telegram had to be 
 sent to Sydney, instructing the two young men who 
 were tarrying there to wait for the next steamer. 
 
 " To say that we were puzzled is putting it lightly; 
 for the first time it seemed as if the promises of God 
 had failed us ! We unitedly bowed before him asking 
 him to show us where the mistake had been, and how 
 
 ' In " Faith and Facts." 
 
 93 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 we had failed to recognize his will, for all of us had 
 felt most clearly that it was his will for all this party 
 to go, that when we came face to face with the fact 
 that two had been left behind, it seemed to us incom- 
 prehensible, for we still felt that we were in the line of 
 his holy will. We humbled ourselves before God, but 
 we could get no light at all, and the riddle seemed in- 
 soluble. 
 
 " Friday morning, the first post brought us a check 
 for £25, and the first thought was, ' Why not yester- 
 day, Lord? It's too late now,' and it was put on one 
 side; after breakfast the thought came, would it be 
 possible for them to catch the steamer at Brisbane by 
 going overland from Sydney? but on looking up the 
 time-table, we found that it could not be done in the 
 time, unless the agents would delay her for us. We 
 communicated with the shipping company, and in the 
 afternoon came the delightful news that the Chang ska 
 had not left Sydney till that morning at eight o'clock! 
 If, then, we could only let the young men know, they 
 might still catch her! Earlier in the day a prepara- 
 tory telegram had been sent to our Sydney Secretary, 
 and we now sent word to Mr. Martin for the young 
 men to go on. We felt sure that the Lord who had 
 thus opened up a new way to China would not fail 
 us now, but we were kept waiting till the next evening, 
 when a wire came, ' Webster and Bird caught train. 
 The Lord Jesus meant John xiv. 14.' Of course he 
 did, and we felt most thankful that we had not once 
 doubted his Word or his wisdom." 
 
 94 
 
XVIII 
 
 MOVING MOUNTAINS IN JAPAN 
 
 T7ARLY in the present century B. C. Miyamoto, a 
 -■-' student in Hashiman Academy, in the province of 
 Omi, Japan, became a Christian. But he was the only 
 Christian in the school, and he longed for some one to 
 whom he might take his problems. Daily he prayed 
 that God would send the Christian teacher for whom 
 he longed, by whom, too, his fellow students might be 
 led to share his joy in Christ. 
 
 Months passed. No Christian arrived. Still he 
 prayed, for his faith was firm that God would give 
 him his desire. Graduation day came, and he thought 
 he would have to leave the school without having his 
 teacher. But he was asked to serve as teacher of 
 English, so he remained. 
 
 While he prayed, God was preparing the answer. 
 William Murrell Vories had volunteered to go from 
 the United States to teach in Hashiman Academy. As 
 a condition of accepting the appointment he had stipu- 
 lated that he should be allowed to teach Bible classes in 
 his leisure time. 
 
 Eagerly he looked forward to reaching his field, but 
 when at last he stepped from the train near the acad- 
 emy, he realized that he was practically alone in a 
 province which had long been looked upon as a center 
 of Buddhism. He knew that the ancient religion still 
 
 95 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 had a wonderful hold on the more ignorant of the 
 people, and that the educated men would be difficult to 
 reach, for, turning from Buddhism, they had become 
 agnostics. He would have been downcast if he had 
 allowed himself to dwell on these difficulties, but he 
 was resolved to go ahead in God's strength. 
 
 Before he knew the language he asked his students 
 to visit him in his room. He played games with them 
 till he was on good terms with them. Then he knew 
 enough of the language to ask them if they would 
 join a Bible class for students. They did not know 
 what he meant, but they agreed to his proposal, some 
 for the sake of politeness, others because of curiosity. 
 
 With fear and trembling the missionary began his 
 first lesson. He knew only a few words of the lan- 
 guage. How, then, could he teach them ? He thought 
 that perhaps he was foolish to go ahead with such 
 inadequate preparation. Yet he knew he must go on 
 with his task. 
 
 God honored his faith. Miyamoto made known his 
 eagerness to act as interpreter — Miyamoto, the lonely 
 Christian who had prayed for a man who would lead 
 him into fuller knowledge of the truth. 
 
 The forty-five young men who attended the first 
 session of the Bible class were so much interested that 
 they told their friends. Before long more than three 
 hundred students were enrolled in four classes and 
 were listening with rapt attention to the simple pres- 
 entation of Bible truth. 
 
 The young teacher was pleased with the results, but 
 he realized that the work would be incomplete until the 
 young men could see other natives who had been trans- 
 
 96 
 
MOVING MOUNTAINS IN JAPAN 
 
 formed by Christ. There were none to whom he could 
 point them, save his interpreter, and he was only a 
 beginner in the Christian life. 
 
 Finally, after long and earnest prayer, and after 
 conference with Miyamoto, it was decided that they 
 two must live the Christ life before the students so 
 constantly that the students would realize the power 
 of the words taught. In humility they asked that they 
 might be given grace to be true witnesses, not only in 
 hours when duty called them before the men, but at 
 all times. 
 
 Then they went a step further. They invited one of 
 the students to share with them their room, in order 
 that they might by hourly contact " help him to apply 
 the principles of Christianity to the practical problems 
 of Christian life, and thus develop from their own 
 number an example that would help solve the dilemma." 
 
 The experiment was so successful that they invited 
 others to come with them, till before long seven na- 
 tives were sharing their poor quarters. These became 
 so crowded that it was necessary to use a " disused and 
 rat-infested attic." 
 
 As others wished to live with them on the same 
 terms, they looked for larger quarters. None could 
 be found, however ; no one in the town seemed to de- 
 sire to help the young Christians. 
 
 They were not discouraged. They formed the dar- 
 ing plan of erecting a Young Men's Christian Asso- 
 ciation building. But they could not secure even a 
 lot. 
 
 Of course they told God of their difficulty and God 
 showed them the way out. He sent to them a native 
 
 97 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 from Kyoto who desired to give a Christian church to 
 the town, in which he had spent his boyhood. When 
 he learned of their plan he gave them the deed to the 
 best corner lot in town, stipulating that half of this 
 should become the site of the church, while half should 
 be reserved for the Y. M. C. A. building. 
 
 Then their faith was tried by opposition. Buddhist 
 priests, disturbed by the popularity of the new re- 
 ligion among the young men, and fearful lest their 
 own fat fees become less, stirred up trouble. They 
 threatened Mr. Vories, and when they found that they 
 could not move him, they appealed to those responsible 
 for the school to forbid the continued teaching of re- 
 ligion by their employees. 
 
 It proved an easy matter to provoke some of the 
 unruly students to persecute their Christian fellows. 
 At first they were satisfied with petty annoyances, but, 
 becoming bolder, they attacked the Christians by night 
 and sometimes left them senseless on the ground. 
 
 To Vories the students came for help. What should 
 they do? To whom should they go? He could only 
 tell them to go to God with their troubles and per- 
 plexities. So they agreed to meet each morning in 
 the room of the teacher for fifteen minutes of prayer. 
 
 The first day twelve men went. Earnestly they asked 
 God to deliver them from their tormentors. Then 
 they went out, encouraged. But they were dismayed 
 when, next day, their opponents redoubled their an- 
 noying attacks. 
 
 Prayers were continued. More were present at the 
 second gathering. Before the end of the month forty 
 daily asked God to give them courage to face their 
 
 98 
 
MOVING MOUNTAINS IN JAPAN 
 
 foes and to open the way to serve him as they desired. 
 
 Mr. Vories/ tells how the answer came. It was not 
 in ** a lessening of the abuses, but in a change in the 
 men themselves." God's Spirit descended on the 
 prayer meetings. Those who were already Christians 
 became more devoted. Some of the students who had 
 hesitated to accept Christ decided to become his fol- 
 lowers. 
 
 The persecuting Japanese, learning these facts, re- 
 doubled their efforts, but to their surprise they were 
 unable to make any impression on the Christians. The 
 prayer meetings they had ridiculed increased in num- 
 ber, and as they saw the students going to and from 
 the meetings and to their places in class, they mar- 
 veled at the marks of peace and joy on the faces of 
 the men. 
 
 What could be the cause of this strange power of the 
 Christians to smile at their worst efforts? What did 
 they do at their prayer meetings? They resolved to 
 learn. Two of their number agreed to spy on one 
 of the gatherings. Assuring their fellows that they 
 would learn the secret, they attended a prayer meeting. 
 Their eyes were open wide and their ears were atten- 
 tive. But they saw nothing but kneeling men, they heard 
 nothing but petitions that God would give blessing to 
 those who prayed and to those who opposed and per- 
 secuted them. And they were conquered. " They 
 were overcome and melted to tears in the very meeting 
 which they had come to report upon." 
 
 The Christians had conquered. Their faith was 
 justified. Both spies became Christians, and made 
 
 * In "A Mustard Seed in Japan." 
 
 99 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 public confession of their sin in persecuting their fel- 
 lows, and sought forgiveness. 
 
 Alarmed, the Buddhist priests brought pressure on 
 the Commissioner of Education, and he informed the 
 principal of the academy that Vories must cease to 
 teach Bible classes, or resign. In case he was retained, 
 and continued his Bible work, the state appropriation 
 to the school would be discontinued. 
 
 At the end of the two years covered by the teacher's 
 contract he was obliged to give up his work. 
 
 What then? Must he leave the town? Must he 
 desert the young Christians who depended on him, 
 without erecting the buildings for which he had the 
 lot all ready? 
 
 He decided that he could not forsake the Christian 
 students. They needed him, and he needed them. To- 
 gether they must face the future, conquering difficulties 
 through their faith in God, and winning their way un- 
 til their right to worship God in that Buddhist com- 
 munity was recognized by the priests. 
 
 In the face of constant opposition a modest church 
 building was erected. Then, courageously, the leader 
 faced the future, not knowing how support was to 
 come. 
 
 Ways appeared. A tourist who had become inter- 
 ested in the young Christians began to send twenty-five 
 dollars a month for the work. Then Vories thought 
 of a plan to add to the income and support himself. 
 Before becoming a student volunteer he had been a 
 student of architecture. Now was the time to put his 
 knowledge to practical use! Surely at mission sta- 
 tions and elsewhere he would be called on to design 
 
 ICXD 
 
MOVING MOUNTAINS IN JAPAN 
 
 and superintend the erection of buildings, when once 
 it became known that he was ready for commissions. 
 
 He found the work he sought. Friends in Japan 
 and the United States became interested in the mis- 
 sion. Other workers volunteered^ until there were 
 twenty at the station. The parent church became self- 
 supporting. Young Men's Christian Associations were 
 organized at three points, two of these being railroad 
 towns. A motor boat began to carry gospel messages 
 to all points on the sixty-mile lake which is one of the 
 province's chief features. 
 
 And still the work goes on in this Buddhist strong- 
 hold, increasing in power and reaching more of the 
 people who were so long in bondage to the priests, a 
 monument to faith in God and to God's blessing on 
 workers who trusted in him. 
 
 lOI 
 
XIX 
 
 A LIFE OF TRUST IN THE DESERT 
 
 "T3E-GW0-ET-TEN goes to his death! " 
 
 -■-' This was the mournful chant of the Navajo 
 friends of an Indian seventy years old as he turned 
 his back on his home and rode to the Arizona court 
 which was to try him for willful murder. He was in- 
 nocent of the charge. But the Indians had learned by 
 experience that there was not much hope for one of 
 their race on trial by a jury of cowboys and cattle- 
 owners. How could they expect to convince judge 
 and jury that the cowboy killed by Be-gwo-et-ten had 
 persecuted him for months, and at the moment of 
 death was forcing his way, fully armed, into a 
 native hunting camp? How could there be anything 
 but death in store for an Indian who had dared 
 to lift his hand against a white man, even in self- 
 defense? 
 
 But Be-gwo-et-ten closed his ears to the wailing of 
 his friends. He had given his word that he would 
 appear for trial. So he rode one hundred and eighty 
 miles, although weak from a bullet wound, and reached 
 the county seat on the appointed day. 
 
 There a surprise was in store for the old hero. A 
 stranger, learning of his case and convinced of his 
 innocence, had interested friends in the East, and had 
 secured counsel for the accused. The result was his 
 
 102 
 
A LIFE OF TRUST IN THE DESERT 
 
 acquittal. The Indians rejoiced, and were ready to 
 do anything for their benefactor. 
 
 The stranger was Mr. W.- R. Johnston, who had 
 heard the call of twenty-five thousand Navajos among 
 whom no missionary labored. With no assurance of 
 support other than the prayers of a few friends and the 
 promises of God, he took his family to the Arizona 
 desert. His first home was a tent on the bank of the 
 Little Colorado River, fifty miles from Flagstaff. 
 There a clearing was made in a cottonwood grove, and 
 a one-room cabin was built. This primitive structure, 
 somewhat enlarged, was long the main building of the 
 mission. 
 
 When Mr. Johnston sought to begin his work, he 
 found many dif^culties in his way. First of all, he had 
 to win the confidence of the Indians. He was told 
 that this was impossible. But he believed that God 
 would open the way to the hearts of the red men, whom 
 he longed to help. In consecjuence of the assistance 
 given Be-gwo-et-ten in his time of need, friends were 
 made by hundreds. 
 
 But there was still a serious hindrance to his work. 
 The Navajos, who are not annuity Indians, but earn 
 their living by sheep-raising, were compelled to be rov- 
 ers. Their reservation is large, but, owing to the lack 
 of water, is useless for grazing purposes at least six 
 months in the year. So the herders wander about in 
 search of pasture. They remain, it may be, but a few 
 weeks in a place, and so cannot be effectively reached 
 by Christian workers. 
 
 Mr. Johnston realized that he must break up their 
 nomadic habits. If he would do this successfully, 
 
 103 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 permanent pasturage must be provided. The reserva- 
 tion itself offered little opportunity for the carrying out 
 of his plans. The extra-reservation lands, hov^ever, 
 are w^atered by the Little Colorado ; that is, when there 
 is any water in the stream, which is only periodically. 
 The bed is dry except after the infrequent rains, and 
 when the melting snows send down floods from the 
 mountains. Then the dry bed speedily becomes a 
 torrent. 
 
 Mr. Johnston thought of the blessing to the Indians 
 if only a dam could be constructed and these flood 
 waters retained for use in time of drought. Discour- 
 agers told the missionary that he could not succeed in 
 building the dam, and that, even if the dam were built, 
 he had no assurance that the land redeemed by so 
 much labor would not be taken from them by greedy 
 settlers. They had seen this result so often that it was 
 difficult to interest them in the plan. They were afraid 
 of the white man. But Mr. Johnston believed God 
 would help him. So, to assure the Indians of the 
 permanency of their investment of labor, Mr. John- 
 ston, with two Navajos, went to Washington and 
 appealed to President Roosevelt to withdraw from 
 settlement the land on the river, near the mission, in 
 order to permit its survey and allotment to the Nava- 
 jos, according to law. The request was granted, and 
 another difficulty was removed. 
 
 Then the irrigation work was begun in earnest. A 
 canal was dug, and a crude pile driver was made by 
 Mr. Johnston and an assistant, with the aid of a few 
 Indians. Some tools were furnished by the Indian 
 Rights Association of Philadelphia. Whenever funds 
 
 104 
 
A LIFE OF TRUST IN THE DESERT 
 
 specially contributed for the purpose were exhausted, 
 the work was discontinued. Mr. Johnston was the 
 tireless superintendent, and his Navajo helpers were 
 inspired by his example. They were hungry, but still 
 they worked with dogged determination. Food was 
 given them whenever the missionary had it to give, but 
 frequently the members of the family at the station 
 were more hungry than the Indians. On one occasion, 
 when the mission team was hired by settlers in the 
 neighborhood, the proceeds were used to feed Indian 
 workers for two weeks. At another time prayer was 
 offered for relief for the starving laborers, and the 
 answer came in the shape of drafts for one hundred 
 and two dollars from the Indian Rights Association. 
 
 When the dam was within three days of completion, 
 a flood came down, caused by rains in the uplands. 
 When the Indians saw their work threatened, men, 
 women, and children were called into service. One 
 woman nearly seventy years of age worked with the 
 others to save what represented so much to the tribe. 
 The flood gradually worked its way around the un- 
 finished end of the dam, and soon cut a wide channel 
 through it. 
 
 But the Indians were not discouraged. Again they 
 set to work. The breach was repaired, only to be 
 opened by a second flood. A third attempt was made, 
 and the structure was finally finished — three hundred 
 feet of stone and timber. Then all waited eagerly for 
 the rising of the water. 
 
 Although that season's freshet was not so great as 
 usual, the water retained by the dam was still enough 
 to prove the feasibility of Mr. Johnston's plans for irri- 
 
 105 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 gation. The ditches were filled, and the underground 
 streams were replenished, so that a number of wind- 
 mills drew water from wells driven in convenient loca- 
 tions. 
 
 Then once more the cry was raised, '* The river is 
 coming! " As before, every available hand was raised 
 to avert the threatened calamity, but in spite of strenu- 
 ous efforts the rushing waters tore a gap in the dam. 
 Owing to unscientific engineering and the lack of 
 proper tools in building, the structure was too weak 
 to withstand great pressure. 
 
 This was in 1902. In December Mr. Johnston was 
 urged by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to visit 
 Washington for a conference with the department. 
 Two leading Navajos, She-she-nez and Pesh-la-ki 
 Etsetty, accompanied him. Mr. Johnston told Com- 
 missioner Jones of the vain efforts to build the dam. 
 Deeply interested, Mr. Jones asked what it would take 
 to complete, in a first-class manner, their irrigation 
 plant, including ditch, dam, material for conduits, and 
 mills. When a rough estimate was made, he at once 
 said that five thousand dollars could be appropriated 
 for the purpose, and requested Mr. Johnston to accept 
 an appointment from the government to take general 
 oversight of the work. The appointment was accepted 
 on condition that no salary be paid. The Commis- 
 sioner unwillingly agreed, but insisted on sending out 
 a clerk, that the missionary might be relieved of the 
 accounts and correspondence. 
 
 In February, 1903, a competent engineer was hired, 
 and the work of rebuilding was begun. A number of 
 miles of ditch and laterals were laid off, and plans 
 
 106 
 
A LIFE OF TRUST IN THE DESERT 
 
 were drawn for a more massive dam. The Indians 
 flocked in, hungry, and eager for a chance to earn their 
 bread at work which promised so much for their fu- 
 ture. One old man, who lived across the river, walked 
 ninety miles to reach the works. The river was high 
 and the water was cold; but, securing a shovel, he swam 
 across and asked for employment. There was soon an 
 entire brigade of old men who worked diligently. Their 
 ages ranged from fifty to eighty years. By March 
 8 there were seventy-eight Indians of all ages on the 
 pay roll. They were unskilled and undisciplined, but 
 they responded readily to the instruction of their fore- 
 men. Soon the dam was completed. 
 
 At the mission no salaries are paid to anyone, for 
 there is no treasury of a mission board upon which 
 to make drafts at stated intervals. However, Mr. and 
 Mrs. Johnston and their associates from the first made 
 their drafts, morning and evening and many times each 
 day, upon the full treasury of Him whom giving doth 
 not impoverish. " Faith Mission " would be a true 
 name for the station thus supported by the God who 
 hears and answers prayer. For God answered those 
 prayers; the drafts were honored, the work prospered. 
 Sometimes, to be sure, there was little in the house 
 either to eat or to wear. Often the parents did not 
 know how the day's wants were to be supplied. At 
 times the father's shoes were mere uppers. But al- 
 ways God sent his angel, and his servants did not 
 suffer. 
 
 No appeals were made to anyone but God. A little 
 periodical, '' A Neglected People," was the organ of the 
 mission. In every number this motto was prominently 
 
 107 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 displayed, "As to needs, full information. As to 
 funds, no solicitation." 
 
 Is it strange that this interdenominational mission 
 to the Navajos, founded in faith and nurtured in 
 prayer, has been blessed by the Father of the faithful? 
 
 io8 
 
FIVE 
 ENCOURAGEMENTS 
 
 109 
 
Yet, in the maddening maze of things, 
 
 And tossed by storm and flood, 
 To one fixed stake my spirit clings, 
 
 I know that God is good ! . . . 
 
 I know not what the future hath 
 
 Of marvel or surprise, 
 Assured alone that life and death 
 
 His mercy underlies . . . 
 
 And so beside the Silent Sea 
 
 I wait the muffled oar. 
 No harm from Him can come to me 
 
 On ocean or on shore. 
 
 I know not where His islands lift 
 
 Their fronded palms in air; 
 I 'only know I cannot drift 
 
 Beyond His love and care. 
 
 — ^JoHN G. Whittier. 
 
 IIO 
 
XX 
 
 IN GOD'S STRENGTH 
 
 "'T^HERE is so much that ought to be done; but 
 -*- there are so few of us that we do not feel able 
 to undertake the work." 
 
 When the temptation comes to a Christian to say 
 something* like that, he needs to think of the reply 
 made by a corporal of the Royal Northwest Mounted 
 Police of Canada to the commander of a troop of 
 soldiers. The soldiers had just brought a company 
 of two hundred wild Cree Indians to the place where 
 they were to be turned over to the police, who would 
 guard them to their reservation. " Where's your 
 escort for these Indians?" the question was asked of 
 the corporal, who stood at the head of a file of two of 
 his men. " We're here ! " the corporal replied. " Yes, 
 yes, I see. But where's your regiment ? " "I guess it's 
 here all right," once more the corporal made reply; 
 " the other fellow's looking after the breakfast things." 
 ** But are there only four of you then? " " That's so, 
 colonel, but then you see we wear the queen's scarlet," 
 was the firm answer of the corporal. Conscious that 
 he wore the uniform of a mighty sovereign, that cor- 
 poral was ready to undertake any duty that came to 
 him. 
 
 Then why should a Christian fear to do work God 
 has put in his way? He does not stand alone. He 
 
 III 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 wears the uniform of the mighty God, and always 
 underneath him are the everlasting* arms of love. 
 
 When faith is weak and the Christian loses cour- 
 age, when the present is all dark and he dreads to think 
 of the future, there is sure relief in thinking of the 
 ever-present Helper, and recalling what God has done 
 in previous times of affliction. Has there ever been a 
 danger through which 'God has not helped him if he has 
 given God the chance? The result of such argument 
 will be the same serene confidence that enabled David 
 to say (it is supposed on the night that he was fleeing 
 from Jerusalem on account of Absalom's rebellion), 
 " In peace will I both lay me down and sleep ; for thou, 
 Jehovah, alone makest me dwell in safety," and justifi- 
 cation will come to modern makers of the prayer, as it 
 came to him, so that, next morning, he could sing, " I 
 laid me down and slept; I awaked; for Jehovah sus- 
 taineth me.'* 
 
 112 
 
XXI 
 
 "LACKED YE ANYTHING?" 
 
 A YOUNG Englishman, of twenty-two was invited 
 -^^ to the home of a friend in Ireland, in order that 
 the two might talk over a possible business partnership. 
 When he arrived, he was warned to avoid an older 
 brother, who would surely talk to him about his soul. 
 The visitor did seek to avoid him, for his soul was the 
 subject about which he wanted to talk least. But that 
 very day he was drawn into the conversation he 
 dreaded. He did not give the Christian brother the 
 satisfaction of knowing it, but he carried away with 
 him a most uncomfortable feeling about himself, as 
 well as a feeling of wonder at the evident joy of the 
 man who had spoken to him. 
 
 A few weeks later the impression was deepened by 
 a call on a man in Belfast whom he sought for business 
 reasons. He was on his guard against this man also, 
 for he had been told that he was *' one of these re- 
 ligious people." But in spite of himself the personality 
 of the Christian man charmed him. 
 
 As he saw more of the man and his Christian friends 
 the impression deepened. As he watched their lives 
 he heard God's call to him to give his heart to Christ 
 and become " a religious fanatic " himself. By this 
 time, however, the religion of his friends did not seem 
 fanaticism, but the most reasonable faith. 
 
 113 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 Before long he was a regular attendant at a Bible 
 class of five men which met in a private home. Gradu- 
 ally the band grew till the class more than doubled. 
 
 One desire that was ever in the hearts of the young 
 men was that they might be guided to serve God in the 
 way of his choosing. They sought his guidance, be- 
 lieving that he would give them some definite work to 
 do for him, and that, when the time came, he would 
 give them the faith to do his will; if need be, to go 
 out, like Abraham, " not knowing whither " they 
 went. 
 
 One February night in 1897 they were put to the 
 test. God made it clear to them that he wanted them 
 in the foreign-mission field. Before they separated 
 they drew up and signed this declaration: 
 
 *' Lord, I am at thy disposal for Foreign Missionary 
 Work as soon as, and wherever, thou callest me." 
 
 In the following summer four of the young men 
 decided to go to the Students' Conference at Curbar 
 in Derbyshire, England. '* We had a strong impres- 
 sion that the guidance to our sphere of labor was to 
 be there revealed," one of the young men has written.^ 
 There they met a worker who had gone to the Con- 
 ference in the belief that there God would open the 
 way to find seven men who were needed for mission 
 work in Egypt. 
 
 When the call was made known to the young men 
 who were seeking guidance, they agreed to go, but 
 said it was their conviction that they should go out in 
 full dependence on God for support rather than in con- 
 nection with any organized mission. Their earnestness 
 
 * George Swan, in "Lacked Ye Anything?" 
 114 
 
"LACKED YE ANYTHING?" 
 
 and faith were so apparent that it seemed impossible to 
 urge them to reconsider their decision. 
 
 The four men at Curbar prayed for the three men 
 to complete the party. They intended to present the 
 call at a gathering of the Bible-class band, believing 
 that there the number would be made up to seven. 
 But they did not need to wait till the meeting. That 
 very summer one of the band, who had had no com- 
 munication with the volunteers enlisted at Curbar, was 
 visiting in Algeria, where he decided that God wanted 
 him to become a missionary to the Mohammedans. 
 '' He felt, at the time, that this might lead to his 
 separation from the rest of the band; but all was quite 
 clear when he arrived home, and heard of God's deal- 
 ings with the others." 
 
 Word soon came that the sixth member of the band 
 had been led to decide that his duty lay in Moham- 
 medan lands through reading the pamphlet, " A Chal- 
 lenge to Faith," which came into his hands in such a 
 way that he saw God's leading very clearly. 
 
 The six men began to make ready for the trip to 
 Egypt, for all agreed that they should begin work 
 there. To be sure, the seventh volunteer had not yet 
 offered himself, but they believed that God would send 
 him in good time. 
 
 While they waited, prayed, and worked, a friend 
 sought them and told them he thought they were mak- 
 ing a mistake. Unable to convince them, he returned 
 to his home. On the way a Christian man said to 
 him, '' I hear you are going with the little band of 
 men to Egypt." 
 
 He could not forget the words. Soon he was won- 
 115 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 dering if he ought not to go. Then he decided that 
 if this was a call of God to him, some way would be 
 shown him to arrange for the management of his busi- 
 ' ness in time to join the band. This question came to 
 him in a room where a roll of Scripture texts hung 
 on the wall. Staring him in the face were the words, 
 " Come unto me, and I will give you the good of the 
 land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land. 
 Regard not your stuff, for the good of all the land of 
 Egypt is yours." 
 
 It was enough. He hesitated no longer, but made 
 known to the waiting six that he was ready to join 
 them. 
 
 Without arranging for support, the young men 
 went to Egypt. Work was begun in Alexandria in 
 1898. Later forces were divided and stations were 
 opened in three villages and towns. Schools were 
 opened and evangelistic work was conducted. 
 
 In 1900 it was decided to organize the mission. 
 Accordingly a simple constitution was adopted, and a 
 Home Council was arranged for in Belfast, which was 
 to receive the gifts sent in for the work of the mission. 
 Then there was a Field Council, which was to have 
 charge of administration on the field. The name 
 adopted at first was the Egypt Mission Band. Three 
 years later this was changed to the Egypt General 
 Mission. In general, the organization was patterned 
 after that of the China Inland Mission. 
 
 The foundation principle of the organization was re- 
 affirmed : the members trusted in the Lord directly to 
 supply all needs. The method followed in carrying 
 out this principle was thus explained by Mr. Swan: 
 
 116 
 
"LACKED YE ANYTHING?'* 
 
 " Every month we divide what God has sent in ; 
 first paying all fixed charges, such as rents, teachers, 
 evangelists' and other helpers' wages, and all other cur- 
 rent expenses; the balance is then distributed amongst 
 the missionaries, giving each such a sum as will cover 
 the necessities of life. If there is not sufficient to pro- 
 vide this sum, each abates proportionately. As a 
 matter of fact, God has very often enabled the mem- 
 bers of the Mission to live on much less than this 
 amount, and in various ways, when he has seen his 
 children needed more, he has sent it. Many times we 
 have reconsidered this method of making the work, 
 rather than the worker, a first charge on the mission 
 funds. But, after considering it in all its bearings, it 
 has always been unanimously decided to be the best 
 working plan for us." 
 
 During the years since the organization of the Mis- 
 sion the work has prospered. Recruits have joined 
 the original band, until there were, in 1913, thirty- 
 four missionaries; schools have prospered; converts 
 have been made, and always there has been enough to 
 meet the needs of the stations. The workers rejoice 
 to quote the words : " When I sent you forth without 
 purse and without scrip, lacked ye anything? and they 
 answered, nothing." That their faith in God has been 
 justified one of their number testifies : " Although 
 nearly every month, during fifteen years, has seen our 
 general account exhausted, we have never once failed, 
 or even been late, in meeting our liabilities. If at times 
 the missionaries' allowances have been very short, 
 God has always, in some way, met the actual need. 
 Many can testify to the fact that, when allowances have 
 
 [ 17 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 made it impossible to buy very needful additions to the 
 wardrobe, God has sent to them just the very garments 
 they needed, and, besides, fitting excellently. Some one 
 may remark, ' But what a hand-to-mouth existence.' 
 Quite so, but there is no sordidness or grinding pov- 
 erty in the existence when we fully realize that it is, as 
 some one has said, ' from God's hand to our mouth.' Is 
 not the life of simple dependence after all the highest? 
 
 " Not only in the matter of finance, however, have 
 we seen that God's hand has been with us. Time 
 after time we have found that choice of Mission prem- 
 ises has been made with more than human foresight, 
 and our hearts have been filled with joy as we have 
 watched railway developments, market, and town 
 changes, etc., all making the sites year by year more 
 valuable as Mission centers." 
 
 The idea at the basis of the mission work is further 
 explained in this way : 
 
 " One of the simple principles which we believe God 
 gave us at the inception of the work was that it should 
 be carried on in faith. No attempt was made to define 
 what this meant or to expound its content. We be- 
 lieved we had been called of God to go forth to Egypt 
 in childlike dependence on him for the supply of all our 
 needs. We believed further that his provision would 
 always be found alongside his plan, and at the back of 
 our minds there was the conviction that the whole 
 Church would be enriched, not by our faith but by his 
 faithfulness. We had no one behind us but a few 
 praying friends. We could therefore make full proof 
 of the reality of God's promises in regard to temporal 
 supplies. It was quite clear to us that going into debt 
 
 ii8 
 
"LACKED YE ANYTHING?" 
 
 would be inconsistent with the Word of God. We 
 could not therefore guarantee any fixed support, but 
 we could undertake to use faithfully what he sent in, 
 taking this as his provision for our need. As the work 
 has grown the situation has become more complex, but 
 the principle remains the same. We are not the 
 agents of a Committee in England, but members of a 
 Mission in Egypt, each pledged to look to the Lord 
 direct for the supply of every need, and all bound to- 
 gether as a family, conscious of the responsibility of 
 the family relationship. This is at any rate the ideal 
 we have set before us, and in spite of many failures 
 we are still seeking to realize the ideal." 
 
 One December there was need of £100 to close the 
 year without debt. On December 31 the amount had 
 not been received, and word was sent to the Home 
 Council, '* Keep praying that we may rejoice in hope. 
 He has never failed us yet." On January 4 a lady 
 brought to the Dublin office of the Mission £100 for the 
 work, explaining that the Lord had told her a week be- 
 fore to give that amount. The gift was cabled to the 
 field, and the workers rejoiced that the sum needed 
 was provided '' without any appeal save to the living 
 God." 
 
 At one time the future of the work in Belbus was 
 threatened by the reception of notice from the landlord 
 to quit the premises. No other house could be secured. 
 The Mission owned a lot, but there was no money for a 
 building. Just then an Englishman came to Belbus, 
 learned of the situation, and gave £600 for a building. 
 Before the notice to quit expired, the new house was 
 completed. 
 
 119 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 A pleasing sequel to this incident is recorded. At the 
 time the Englishman promised the money, he did not 
 know just how he was to afford the expenditure. 
 However, before leaving Egypt he received a letter 
 from home which informed him that, owing to a mis- 
 take in the balance sheet of the firm of which he 
 was a member, he was to be credited with £600 addi- 
 tional. 
 
 In June, 1908, on the last day when funds could go 
 to the Mission from Dublin, and be received in time for 
 the payment of the month's obligations, there was a 
 very small amount in hand. A check for this was in- 
 closed, but before the letter was mailed the Australian 
 mail brought a draft for £150 and another for £12. 
 It was thus possible to inclose everything that was 
 needed. After telling of this response to the faith of 
 God's servants, these sentences are added : " Now that 
 letter from Queensland had been coming for six weeks. 
 Who timed it to arrive just at that critical moment? 
 Coincidence ! The word is too long and the calculation 
 on the basis of probabilities is too difficult. God ! This 
 is simple and satisfying." 
 
 At another time of great need, when funds were 
 especially short, a company of the faithful men had 
 been asking God for help. They were just separating 
 for the night when the last mail was left at the door. 
 The first letter opened contained a check for £120, for- 
 warded by mail from the cable office, in accordance 
 with a cablegram from Australia, fourteen thousand 
 miles distant. Later it was learned that a giver in 
 Australia had intended to send the amount by mail, 
 but when he thought that six weeks would be required 
 
 120 
 
"LACKED YE ANYTHING?" 
 
 for the passage of the letter, he decided to adopt the 
 quicker method, for fear the need might be immediate. 
 
 Of course the work has found many critics, but the 
 arguments of many have been decisively ansv^ered by 
 this statement made in one of the reports of the Mis- 
 sion's work: 
 
 " We are well aware that there are much more im- 
 portant matters in the working of a Missionary So- 
 ciety than finance, and the exercise of faith in God is 
 by no means limited to the question of supply. We 
 are also only too ready to admit that the expression, a 
 ' Faith Mission,' is liable to be grievously misunder- 
 stood. It seems to imply that faith is the peculiar 
 monopoly of the Mission we represent, and rather sug- 
 gests that other missions, whose methods of working 
 are different, are lacking in this essential qualification 
 for any missionary work. These implications are far 
 from our thoughts. All we desire to convey by the 
 expression is a method of working, to which we have 
 been specially called of God, a method whereby the 
 missionaries themselves agree to assume the respon- 
 sibility which generally falls on the Home Board or 
 denomination, and which therefore brings them directly 
 and specially into dependence upon God himself for the 
 supply of their daily needs." 
 
 121 
 
XXII 
 KEEP ON PRAYING 
 
 TTOW the coming of sorrow and disappointment 
 -*■ -■■ sometimes darkens faith ! Yet this is the very 
 time when the Christian most needs a strong faith that 
 will enable him to cast all his care upon him who cares 
 for his people. 
 
 Fortunate is that Christian who, when clouds are 
 thick about him, and the lessons learned from Christ 
 in the past need to be learned all over again, persists 
 in taking all his doubts to God in prayer. Even if he 
 doubts everything else, let him not doubt God ; let him 
 tell to God at all times his doubts and believe what he 
 says to him as he throws himself upon the Father's 
 care. 
 
 There are those who call themselves Christians who 
 do not know what it means to take their doubts and 
 fears and anxieties and lay them thus before the 
 Lord. God asks them to do just this and he promises 
 to give them the help they need. To those who are 
 ready to do the best they can for themselves God is 
 ready to give his blessing if they ask for it. As a 
 godly man once said : " When I have done everything 
 I can and see no clear way, I say to myself, ' God help 
 me, I have brought out all my judgment, my brain can 
 do no more, so it may please thee to give me a push,' 
 for as soon as I ask for help, help comes." 
 
 122 
 
KEEP OX PRAYING 
 
 This was Jesus' experience in Gethsemane. While 
 he prayed the answer came, and thus was according to 
 God's promise, " While they are yet speaking, I will 
 hear." That promise is intended for everyone who 
 calls upon God; God will just as surely answer us as 
 he answered Jesus, if we come to him in faith. We 
 ask that the tumult of our hearts may be quieted, and 
 instantly, though we have been disturbed by many 
 things, we are at peace. Strange thoughts of evil 
 visit our minds; we ask for a vision of God that these 
 may be banished, and at once the heavens are opened 
 to our view. We are on the point of yielding to temp- 
 tation; we ask for strength, and we feel that God's 
 strong arms are underneath us. He does keep his 
 word. 
 
 This thought of God's faithfulness to his promises 
 strengthened Hezekiah when he took his perplexities 
 to God in prayer. At the very beginning he showed 
 the strength of his faith by speaking of God in some of 
 the ways he knew him and thought of him. He 
 thought of God as the God of armies; the God of his 
 people, ready to fulfil the promise he had made to 
 Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; the God of the tem- 
 ple in which Hezekiah was praying; the God of all 
 men and nations; the God of creation and providence. 
 What more did Hezekiah want? This was his God, 
 and he cast all his care upon him. 
 
 What does God mean to us? The comfort and 
 strength we gain from prayer will depend in part on 
 the extent of our knowledge of God. Our knowledge 
 of him must be strong enough to withstand the sneers 
 of those who scoff at prayer. There are still those 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 who like to taunt Christians by declaring that their 
 faith is vain. God cannot give help, they say ; they in- 
 sist that we must just look out for ourselves. But as 
 Napoleon learned his mistake in declaring that '' God 
 is always on the side of the biggest battalions," so will 
 all those learn their error who do not trust God as 
 able to help his people at all times. 
 
 The blind men who encountered Jesus on the Jericho 
 road teach us a lesson of persistence in prayer in the 
 face of insistent opposition. They knew what they 
 wanted from Jesus, and they would not allow any out- 
 side clamor or any interference from others to come 
 in the way of the presentation of their petition. They 
 asked again and again till they had their desire. 
 
 Do we sometimes pray for a boon, only to have our 
 thoughts turned aside from it because of some new 
 interest? If it is worth while to pray, it is worth 
 while to keep on praying. 
 
 124 
 
XXIII 
 
 TRUSTING GOD FOR DAILY NEEDS 
 
 lY/TARSHAL BROOMHALL^ has given the testi- 
 •^^^ monies of three missionaries of the China In- 
 land Mission of God's care of them in the midst of 
 difficulties and privations. 
 
 In 1868 George Duncan became a missionary in 
 Nanking. " Moved with compassion by the sight of 
 the city with its three or four hundred thousand in- 
 habitants without a solitary witness for the Truth, he 
 at once determined to live and labor there if so be that 
 that was possible, and what might have appeared im- 
 possible to most was possible to him. The authorities, 
 though professing friendship, yet, as has been so fre- 
 quently the case, secretly sent orders to every house- 
 holder and innkeeper not to receive him. Such a situa- 
 tion would have deterred most, but not so this noble- 
 hearted, determined Scotsman. 
 
 " Situated in the heart of many cities in China is 
 what is known as the Drum Tower, used among other 
 things as a watchtower from which to give the alarm 
 of fire or other dangers. George Duncan succeeded in 
 making terms with the man in charge of this tower, 
 and was allowed to sleep from sunset to sunrise in one 
 of the upper rooms. Early every morning he had to 
 roll up his bedding and leave. His meals he took at 
 
 ^ In " Faith and Facts." 
 
 125 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 some city restaurant, very much devoid of those com- 
 forts associated with the name in this country, and his 
 only resting-places during the day were the public tea- 
 shops. 
 
 '* What the hardships of such a lot were must be 
 experienced to be appreciated. No place of privacy, no 
 comfort, but only hardship, suspicion from morning to 
 night. Yet the opportunity was welcomed and the 
 gospel preached and tracts sold the whole day long. 
 As the people became accustomed to his presence he 
 was enabled to rent part of two rooms roughly par- 
 titioned off from the other part of a house, and rough 
 as this accommodation was, it was too good to lose. 
 But all the efforts of Mr. Duncan at Nanking and of 
 Mr. Hudson Taylor at Hangchow, and a mutual 
 friend at Shanghai, failed to discover any means of re- 
 mitting money, and without this how could he hold 
 on? Yet the poor foothold obtained was too valu- 
 able to sacrifice, and Mr. Duncan determined to hold 
 on. Mr. Taylor urged him to come down to the 
 coast for supplies, but he feared that, did he do so, he 
 might altogether lose his hard-earned advantage. So 
 he determined to stay and trust God." 
 
 The remainder of the story, so far as it relates to the 
 supply of Mr. Duncan's needs, was quoted by Mr. 
 Broomhall from the account of Hudson Taylor: 
 
 '' I confess that I was not so happy as he was about 
 this matter and found it more difficult to trust for him 
 than he did for himself. Therefore, when for the 
 last time the money I had sent off was returned to me, 
 I felt sure he must be in want, and having no trust- 
 worthy messenger by whom I could send it, began 
 
 126 
 
TRUSTING GOD FOR DAILY NEEDS 
 
 very earnestly to pray for immediate help in this mat- 
 ter. Our little band of missionaries were scattered in 
 opposite directions, but God brought one of them to 
 Hangchow to consult about a matter of extension, and 
 when he heard of Brother Duncan's circumstances, he 
 agreed to postpone his own matters and take the money. 
 
 " After a few words of prayer, we sallied out to- 
 gether, found and came to terms with a boatman who 
 w^ished to go to Nanking, and in a very short time I 
 saw them start with a fair wind on their long journey 
 of ten days or a fortnight. They were remarkably 
 prospered on their way, to the surprise of the boatman, 
 who remarked to his missionary passenger, Mr. Rud- 
 land, that his God must be the God of the winds, for 
 whichever way the Grand Canal turned they had a 
 fair wind! They therefore passed Suchow much 
 sooner than they had expected, and made good prog- 
 ress until halfway between that city and Chinkiang, 
 but on reaching the city of Changchow found to 
 their dismay that the bank of the Canal had given way, 
 that the water had flooded the lowlands in the neigh- 
 borhood, and that they were unable to proceed. On 
 asking the boatman what was to be done, he said that 
 they might have to wait there a month, till the au- 
 thorities repaired the banks of the Canal. This evi- 
 dently would never do. Inquiries in the city elicited 
 that there was a bridle-path through the fields, by 
 which four days might he saved in the journey to 
 Nanking. A donkey was hired, the journey was taken, 
 and Nanking was reached several days sooner than it 
 would have been had not the Canal been broken. 
 
 " But what had been Mr. Duncan's experiences ? 
 127 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 He had gone on quietly with his work, his Christian 
 servant economizing as much as possible until the last 
 coin was spent. After breakfast one morning the serv- 
 ant told him that there was nothing for dinner, and 
 asked what was to be done. ' Done ? ' said Mr. Dun- 
 can. * We must trust the Lord and do good, so shall 
 we dwell in the land, and verily we shall be fed.' Tak- 
 ing up his handful of tracts and books he was about 
 going forth to his day's work, when his servant, with 
 many apologies, asked him to accept as a gift from 
 himself five dollars which he had saved from his wages, 
 saying he knew he would not accept them as a loan, 
 with his conscientious objection to being in debt. Mr. 
 Duncan hesitated, and said to him, ' Now, are you not 
 really giving them to me as a loan after all? If you 
 are saying to yourself, " Mr. Duncan's remittances are 
 sure to come to hand some day, and then he will doubt- 
 less give it back to me," it really would become a loan, 
 and to take it would be to live upon anticipated income. 
 If I take it from you as a gift, I shall never return it 
 to you whatever comes in; your reward shall be in 
 heaven, not on earth.' On being assured that the man 
 wished it to be an offering to God, Mr. Duncan ac- 
 cepted it, and they lived on it together. 
 
 *' Few men knew how to make money go farther 
 than Mr. Duncan, and in this he was well seconded by 
 his servant. Nevertheless, this money also came to an 
 end, and again one morning after breakfast the servant 
 repeated his question, ' What is to be done ? ' adding 
 that his own wages were all spent, and that he was now 
 as poor as his master. With the same encouragement 
 to trust in God and go on with his work, Mr. Duncan 
 
 128 
 
TRUSTING GOD FOR DAILY NEEDS 
 
 took his books and went out for the day. In the course 
 of that day, however, Mr. Rudland arrived with the 
 money (to the great deHght of the servant), and, 
 learning their position, saw very clearly why the Canal 
 bank had been allowed to break and his arrival had 
 been hastened. As evening drew on the servant began 
 to look down the long street, and when in the distance 
 he recognized his weary master, he ran halfway down 
 the street to meet him, saying, ' It's all right, sir, it's 
 all right ; the dinner is ready. Mr, Rudland has come 
 and brought the money.' Putting his hand on the 
 man's shoulder, Mr. Duncan said, ' Didn't I tell you 
 this morning that it was all right? It is always right 
 to trust in the Lord and do good; so shall you dwell 
 in the land, and verily you shall be fed.' 
 
 *' Soon after this Mr. Duncan succeeded in renting a 
 comfortable house, and might perhaps have remained 
 there in peace had not the occurrence of a fire next 
 door drawn the attention of the authorities to him, who 
 brought so much pressure to bear upon his second land- 
 lord that Mr. Duncan judged it wiser to retire to his 
 humbler quarters; and months elapsed ere the house 
 was finally secured in which he lived and labored till 
 his return to England." 
 
 G. Stott, one of the early missionaries in Wenchow, 
 had this experience: 
 
 " Once I fell very short of funds — in fact, so short 
 that I had not a dollar in the house. I was without a 
 dollar, I think, for twenty or twenty-one days — I for- 
 get which — and I had nearly twenty people in the house 
 to feed. Now, how were they to be fed? I think this 
 will be an illustration of God's faithfulness to a poor, 
 
 129 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 weak man. You know, I dare say, that it is also one 
 of our principles never to incur debt. No matter what 
 may come, we never will incur debt. My money was 
 gone and my food also was nearly exhausted. Well, 
 there was a man of whom I had bought rice several 
 times ; and he came to me one day and said, ' Mr. 
 Stott, how is it you have not been to order rice ? Your 
 rice must be out.' I replied, ' Well, the rice is nearly 
 gone, but I cannot order any.' 'Why?' said he. 
 ' Well, if you must know the reason, it is simply be- 
 cause I have not got the money to pay for it.' Soon 
 after that he sent me two loads of rice and 3,000 cash, 
 equal in value to perhaps ten shillings or twelve shill- 
 ings. Well, this rice also was done, and the money was 
 spent; but still no help came. But when that was gone, 
 he again supplied my need, and my tongue would fail 
 to tell you the joy I had with God during those days. I 
 shall remember, I think, as long as life or reason re- 
 mains, how I sat sometimes for two hours together 
 upon the floor of my bedroom and lifted up my heart 
 to my God, and sometimes I felt almost like stretching 
 out my hands to embrace my dear Lord and Saviour 
 Jesus Christ. I had some of the nearest approaches to 
 God during those twenty or twenty-one days that I 
 ever experienced in my life, and God kept me in per- 
 fect peace. I think I never doubted that help would 
 come. Well, during the time that I was waiting upon 
 God for that help, I received a letter from our friend 
 Mr. Berger, informing me that a young friend, who 
 was to become my wife, had already started from 
 England, and perhaps by the time that I received the 
 letter would be more than halfway to China. I dare 
 
 1^.0 
 
TRUSTING GOD FOR DAILY NEEDS 
 
 say many would think that it was not a very bright 
 prospect to get married on. Well, I found God faith- 
 ful, for before she arrived I was delivered out of that 
 trouble." 
 
 Dr. A. W. Douthwaite, who served as a medical 
 missionary from 1874 to 1899, told a convincing story : 
 
 " When I was in the city of Wenchow, with two 
 other families of our missionaries belonging to the 
 C. L M., we were a long time without a supply of 
 funds. We had run very short of money, and as it 
 drew towards Christmas time, we began to expect some 
 from England, which was our usual source of supply. 
 All the money was used up, but we said : ' The steamer 
 will be in at Christmas, and then we shall surely get 
 some more.' Christmas evening came, and with it the 
 steamer, but not a cent of money for us. Our hopes 
 seemed dashed to the ground. We had in our house 
 just a little flour and some potatoes and a few other 
 things. We knew that we could get no more money 
 from our usual source for probably fifteen days, and 
 our colleagues in the city were in just about the same 
 fix. Just at this time I was subject to a little tempta- 
 tion, for I was offered a situation under the Chinese 
 Government for £800 a year. This would have in- 
 volved giving up missionary work, but God enabled me 
 to resist this temptation. I am sure it was a tempta- 
 tion from the devil. It came just at the time when we 
 were depressed and had been short of money for a 
 long time ; and probably had not my wife remained so 
 stanch and firm and true, and so determined not to 
 give up, I might have yielded. She would not think 
 of such a thing. Well, as I said, the steamer came, 
 
 131 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 and with it no money — nothing to encourage us at all. 
 We went, as usual, and told the Lord all about it, for 
 we went out to China knowing that we had only God 
 to depend upon; and we were quite satisfied that that 
 was enough for us, and we told our wants to him. 
 
 '' Now you will see how that day the Lord, having 
 shut up one source to try our faith, opened others. 
 Before dinner time, a Chinaman came along with a 
 large piece of beef, and said, ' I want you to accept 
 this as a present. I have received a great deal of 
 medicine from you. You have done me good, and you 
 would not take any money. Will you please take this ? ' 
 I took it, and thanked God for it. Soon afterwards, in 
 came another Chinaman, a gentleman, with a coolie 
 walking behind him with a large bamboo over his 
 shoulder, and a basket hanging from each end. The 
 man put the things down in the reception room, and 
 I was asked to come down. I went down and opened 
 the baskets and found in them four hams, and some 
 little things besides. He said, * I want you to accept 
 this as a present.' The usual thing with a Chinaman 
 is to expect you to take a little of what he brings and 
 give him back the rest; but I saw that this man in- 
 tended me to take all, and I did so, and thanked God 
 for it. In came another Chinaman, with a fat pheasant 
 and some chickens and a basket of eggs, and he asked 
 me to accept these; I did accept them and thanked God 
 for them. But that was not all. Before evening a 
 European connected with the consular service came 
 along, bringing with him a coolie carrying a huge tur- 
 key. He said, * See, I have been feeding this turkey 
 for you for six months, will you accept it ? ' You 
 
 132 
 
TRUSTING GOD FOR DAILY NEEDS 
 
 see that the Lord knew six months before that we were 
 going to be short on that day, and he provided for us. 
 Thus we had an abundance of food for the whole of 
 us, ahhough our usual supply was cut off. Several 
 other things came in. A week or two before then I 
 had my umbrella stolen, and during this day in comes 
 a Chinaman with a foreign umbrella, a silk one. He 
 said, * I have been to Shanghai, and I wanted to get a 
 present for you, and I did not know what else to get, 
 so I have brought this umbrella.' 
 
 " Towards evening I received a letter from the 
 customhouse officers, saying that, as I had gratuitously 
 attended to them in cases of sickness, they had sub- 
 scribed to purchase a case of instruments for me, but 
 not knowing what I wanted, would I kindly accept the 
 money? Of course I kindly did. They sent with 
 the letter a roll of seventy dollars. Our hearts w^ere 
 full of joy. We gave God thanks for all that he had 
 done for us; and it is always a joy to me to look back 
 upon that occasion and upon other similar occasions, 
 and remember what God has done. ' The young lions 
 do lack and suffer hunger ; but they that seek the Lord 
 shall not want any good thing.' I have proved that, 
 and all who trust in him will also prove it." 
 
 133 
 
SIX 
 THE CALL AND THE RESPONSE 
 
 135 
 
God never would send you the darkness 
 If he felt you could bear the light; 
 
 But you would not cling to his guiding hand 
 If the way were always bright; 
 
 And you would not care to walk by faith, 
 Could you always walk by sight. 
 
 'Tis true he has many an anguish 
 For your sorrowful heart to bear, 
 
 And many a cruel thorn crown 
 For your tired heart to wear ; 
 
 He knows how few could reach heaven at all 
 If Pain did not guide them there " 
 
 136 
 
XXIV 
 
 WHEN GOD SPEAKS TO US 
 
 VT'ES, to as. He does not speak in precisely the same 
 "'■ way as to the prophets of former days. That is 
 unnecessary. We have the Bible, and he speaks to us 
 through its pages. 
 
 You say you have never had a message from him? 
 
 Have you never — Bible in hand, prayerfully reading 
 some passage to which you had come in course, or 
 perhaps because the pages had opened to that place — 
 had the knowledge that the message before you was for 
 you, to supply some pressing need, to assure you of 
 God's loving care, to turn you from sin, to lead you 
 nearer your Lord? 
 
 When you have been upon your knees in prayer 
 have you not sometimes had the feeling that God was 
 present with you, or have you not had the answer to 
 your petition for guidance and help in the remembrance 
 of some word of Scripture which seemed to be the very 
 thing you had desired? Have you not been reminded 
 of some promise, some warning, some incident related 
 in the Bible, of which you had not thought for years? 
 Have you never been helped by the memory ? 
 
 God pity you if you have not, and lead you to 
 know that you have not been living up to your 
 opportunities. God is waiting to speak to you. 
 But to hear, you must listen. The still, small voice 
 
 137 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 comes not often to those who are permitting cheir 
 lives to be filled full of the clamor of the world 
 and the turmoil of life. It does come ofcen to 
 those who, in the closet, or in the midst of their activi- 
 ties, turn their hearts upward, and see God oy faith. 
 To these God makes himself known; by these his voice 
 is heard; and in their after lives they recall with joy 
 the morning when, by his Word, he showed the way to 
 escape temptation; or the night of darkness and despair 
 when, by a whisper, he made the darkness light and 
 the gloom radiant with his presence. 
 
 It was once a Christian's privilege to look into the 
 Bible of one of God's children, in which he saw marks 
 under certain passages. Dates were written in the 
 margins. With reverence he turned the pages, for he 
 knew he was looking on the spiritual diary of the owner 
 of the Book. As he read he was able to guess some- 
 thing of the trials through which the owner of the 
 Bible had lived, and the triumphs which he had 
 achieved, by God's blessing. 
 
 A mark was under the passage : " There is there- 
 fore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ 
 Jesus." The date followed. The story was plain, of 
 the days when a Christian doubted, perhaps because of 
 renewed sin, or discouragement, or difficulty, until 
 God spoke to him from his Word and sent peace 
 to his hearty by the assurance of " no condemna- 
 tion." 
 
 There was also a mark beneath the passage : '' There 
 is no fear in love; for perfect love casteth out fear." 
 Then a date. The reader remembered nothing of that 
 day. But the owner of that Bible probably remembers 
 
 138 
 
WHEN GOD SPEAKS TO US 
 
 it as a day when, fearful of the outcome of certain 
 events, he began to doubt God, until God assured him 
 that " there is no fear in love." 
 
 Opposite the date November 26, 1895, was this pas- 
 sage, heavily underscored : *' O give thanks unto the 
 Lord, for his mercy endureth forever." At once the 
 reader knew that the record was told of a Thanks- 
 giving Day when the owner of that Bible was looking 
 back over a year which had brought much of trouble, 
 danger, or sorrow. The Lord had spoken to him in 
 his need, and made his presence known. On the 
 day set apart for praise and thanksgiving he was re- 
 joicing. 
 
 The Bible was closed by the reader with the prayer 
 that he might be more faithful and diligent in taking 
 his wants, desires, and thanksgiving to God; that he 
 might feel God's Word coming to him; that in future 
 years he might be able to recall days in his life, not 
 merely by saying, " On that day I had a disappoint- 
 ment," '' On that day I lost a good position," " On that 
 day I made a fortunate investment," but by saying, 
 sometimes, '' Then God spoke to me and gave me joy 
 in sorrow; " " Then God answered a prayer; " '' Then 
 I had the assurance of God's presence as never be- 
 fore." 
 
 Have you had such red-letter days? Are they 
 marked in your mind? Do you recall the history of 
 promises, commands, directions, instructions, in God's 
 Word, as you read these from day to day ? 
 
 Does the Word of God come to you with the assur- 
 ance that this particular message is for you at this 
 very moment ? 
 
 139 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 God's people need to get into touch with him and^ 
 his Word so that his messages will have a special mean- 
 ing for them, and will transform their lives. Then 
 will his Word be indeed a lamp to their feet, and a 
 guide to their path. 
 
 140 
 
XXV 
 
 THE ASSURANCE OF THINGS 
 HOPED FOR 
 
 IT was the day of the great football game. The 
 team was ready to do its best. But just as the men 
 were about to go to the gridiron the head coach saw 
 that several men were " panicky." So he found a mo- 
 ment to remind them of the glorious victories won in 
 past years by famous players. He told them of the 
 phenomenal run of one man, of the field goal kicked 
 by another, of the half back who persisted in playing 
 after several ribs had been broken. Then, seeing how 
 the nervous players had regained control of them- 
 selves, he was ready to let them go into the field. 
 
 The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews knew that 
 because of persecutions and hardships there was dan- 
 ger that many of the Christians would give up their 
 faith in Christ and go back to Judaism. To save the 
 day he reminded them of man after man who had been 
 called on to endure far greater difficulties than they 
 would have to face, yet they were strong to do and 
 to dare because of their faith. 
 
 He told them that " faith is assurance of things 
 hoped for, a conviction of things not seen." It was 
 faith of that sort, in a man, of which a magazine writer 
 has told thus : 
 
 " In Japan an aspiring youth can adopt some man 
 141 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 of eminence as his father, and immemorial custom 
 compels the person thus honored to take and care for 
 the foundling, at least till he comes to the age of self- 
 support. In 1896, the fame of William Jennings Bryan 
 penetrated to the cherry groves of Japan and fired 
 the ambition of a young student. ' I have chosen you 
 to be my father,' he wrote, in effect, to the Nebraskan, 
 * and I will sail at once for the United States.' One 
 morning Mr. Bryan, answering in person a ring at the 
 door, was confronted by a trim Japanese boy, who re- 
 marked, with simple directness, ' I have come.' The 
 lad was made welcome, and for five years was one of 
 the family. He received the same education as Mr. 
 Bryan's own son, and then returned to Japan." 
 
 God wants us to have faith like that in him. If we 
 have, we can bear whatever comes to us. Of course, 
 such faith may seem most unreasonable to those who 
 do not know God. The faith of a mission worker in 
 whose house there was nothing to eat and no money to 
 buy anything would surely have seemed unreasonable 
 to many, but that it seemed perfectly natural to him is 
 evident from his own narrative : '' Not long since my 
 wife called me to the kitchen. ' I have often heard you 
 say one could put his head into an empty flour barrel 
 and sing the doxology,' she said. ' Now, here is your 
 chance.' There was the empty flour barrel ; I was not 
 on a salary, and knew of no money that was coming in. 
 I said, ' I will put my head in and sing, on condition 
 that you will put your head in with me.' So we put 
 our heads in and sang the long-meter doxology. 
 Though no person knew of our need, the next day a 
 groceryman called with a barrel of flour. Who sent it, 
 
 142 
 
ASSURANCE OF THINGS HOPED FOR 
 
 or where it came from, we do not know to this day, 
 save that we do know that our heavenly Father knew 
 that we had need of these things." 
 
 The records of modern missions are crowded with 
 just such stories of faith. Dr. Chamberlain told of 
 the first convert in the Telngu country, a young man 
 whose own father and mother were ready to murder 
 him because he would not deny his faith in Christ. 
 Finally he was decoyed away from his Christian 
 friends and imprisoned. Furniture, clothing, and all 
 food but a little rice and salt were taken from him, 
 and he was told that he would never come out alive 
 unless he denied Christ. But he would not yield. 
 Every day he knelt in prayer. Finally he escaped. 
 Then one came to the missionaries and asked to know 
 the secret of the young man's endurance. 
 
 Such actions may seem unreasonable to those who do 
 not know God. But it is the most reasonable thing in 
 the world to those who have taken God at his word. 
 They have proved him faithful. 
 
 143 
 
XXVI 
 
 OBEDIENCE AND BLESSING 
 
 TN a tale of South American life I read a story 
 -*■ of obedience, glad and hearty obedience, to the 
 words of Christ. 
 
 A traveler was lost in Chile. After hours of wan- 
 dering he was captured by Indians, who took him for 
 a spy. His life was in danger. His captors were 
 on the point of putting him to death, when suddenly 
 all fell on their faces to the ground, then one by one 
 they rose to their feet, mounted their horses, and rode 
 away. The traveler was alone, and safe. But why? 
 
 He wandered on, in search of his companions. After 
 dark he reached a cabin. He begged for shelter. But 
 his reception was hostile. Food and a place to rest 
 were refused, weapons were brandished, and he was 
 glad to depart. But before he had gone many rods the 
 weapons were thrown down, and the natives ran to 
 him, embraced him, begged him to enter the hut, and 
 receive the best they had. 
 
 The night was passed in safety. But the traveler 
 could hardly ,sleep for curiosity. What was the cause 
 of this second change in the attitude of foes, a change 
 as sudden and mysterious as the first, when his life was 
 saved ? 
 
 Next day he went on his way. It was not long 
 before he fell in once more with the Indians who, the 
 
 144 
 
OBEDIENCE AND BLESSING 
 
 day before, had threatened his life. Instead of meet- 
 ing him with hostile demonstrations, they were ready 
 to worship him. They loaded him with gifts; he could 
 not carry them all, they were so many. He did not 
 wish to take them, until he saw the happiness of each 
 individual from whom he received a gift. A child 
 offered him a fire opal, and as he took it from her 
 hands, he was surprised to note the beatific expression 
 of her face. 
 
 More curious than ever, he demanded an explana- 
 tion. Then he learned the reason for the mysterious 
 salvation from death, the cordial reception at the cabin, 
 the loads of gifts. At the moment his life was sought, 
 as at the moment of his turning away from the hut, the 
 natives had heard a peculiar bird cry. According to 
 their superstitious belief, this was the cry of a night 
 bird which no one had ever seen, an angel bird sent 
 by Christ. The bird's cry is the voice of Christ, and 
 that cry will, on the instant, stop a battle, a dance, any- 
 thing. It is a command, and must be obeyed. Further- 
 more, when the bird has called, it turns into a traveler, 
 and the traveler is Christ. Whoever sees him must 
 load him with gifts, and every gift will bring a bless- 
 ing from heaven to the giver. 
 
 It is only a fable of the superstitious people of Chile. 
 But what a commentary on the teaching of Christ, who 
 says: " If ye love me, keep my commandments." 
 
 Obedience to the commands of Christ will cause a 
 decided change in our lives. He may call on us to give 
 up cherished plans, to surrender precious possessions, 
 to endure discomfort, and even danger. But what of 
 that ? It should be enough for us that he commands. 
 
 145 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 Let his command be obeyed as instantly, cheerfully, and 
 completely as the ignorant Indians of the story obeyed 
 what they took to be the voice of Christ, although 
 that voice demanded hard things. Such obedience is 
 as sure to bring a blessing to us as to those who, in 
 the story, ministered to the needy traveler. In giving 
 to him they believed they were ministering to Christ, 
 at his bidding. We have the same opportunity of re- 
 ceiving blessing, for Christ has said : '* Inasmuch as ye 
 have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, 
 ye have done it unto me." 
 
 146 
 
XXVII 
 
 THE BIBLE A PERSONAL MESSAGE 
 
 /^NE hundred and ten years ago a Scotch immi- 
 ^^ grant, a lad of twenty-one, was ending his first 
 twenty-four hours in this country. During the day 
 strange scenes and new faces had so held his attention 
 that he had forgotten to be homesick. In the evening 
 it was different. He was lonely, and sad, and discour- 
 aged. Most unexpectedly, however, his burdens were 
 lightened, and his helart was filled with peace. Here 
 is the story, as in the later years he told it himself : 
 
 " The first night I slept on shore was at No. 8 Dutch 
 Street, in an old frame building with a shingled roof. 
 The weather was very hot, and I slept in the garret, 
 with the window open. About midnight it began to 
 thunder and rain tremendously, the rattling of the 
 heavy drops on the naked shingles, the constant blaze 
 of lightning, the crashing roar of thunder, almost 
 scared me to death. Before this I had never been 
 twenty miles from the house in which I was born. In 
 Scotland we have no shingle roofs, no thunder, no hot 
 nights, no such heavy rain, no such blazing lightning, 
 and no loud thunder. I wished myself home again. 
 I slept no more that night, but kept tossing about on 
 a straw bed, spread out on some Albany boards, till 
 daylight. When I arose, not wishing to disturb the 
 family at three o'clock, I thought to while away the 
 
 147 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 time by opening my large case of books. They had 
 been three months in the hold of the vessel, and I 
 thought they might be mildewed. Having uncovered 
 the case, on the top of the pile I found a small pocket 
 Bible in two volumes. It was placed there by the hands 
 of my father — my mother I never knew. I opened 
 the book to see if it had sustained any damage. My 
 eyes fell on the words, ' My Son.' I was thinking of 
 my father. I read on with delight. Having finished 
 the last verse I found I had been reading the third 
 chapter of the Proverbs of Solomon. Get a Bible and 
 read this chapter. Then suppose yourself in my situa- 
 tion — sore in body, sick at heart, and commencing life 
 among a world of strangers, and say if words more 
 suitable could be put together to fit my case. You may 
 think as you please, but I looked upon it as a chart 
 from Heaven, directing my course among the rocks, 
 shoals, and storm of life. Its immediate effect was to 
 raise my hopes, drive away my fears, and add strength 
 to my soul. My sick head and sore bones were cured 
 by the impression. I went forth with a light heart, to 
 work my way through the world, resolved to keep this 
 chapter as a pilot by my side." 
 
 And the resolution was kept. Other chapters were 
 read, and he was surprised to find that all of them con- 
 tained messages for him. Then he made up his mind 
 that he would take, not merely the one chapter, but the 
 entire volume, as his pilot through life. He became 
 a student of the Word, and was soon so thoroughly 
 grounded in his faith and knowledge that when 
 Thomas Paine, the atheist, attacked the Bible in his 
 hearing, he was able to silence him effectually. 
 
 148 
 
THE BIBLE A PERSONAL MESSAGE 
 
 There are lonely, homesick, discouraged people 
 among us to-day who need to make the discovery which 
 gladdened the heart of the Scotch lad on that stormy 
 night in New York City. Strange that we are so slow 
 to learn that there is a personal message for each one 
 of us in the Book which we have been neglecting, 
 and it is just the message which will meet our 
 wants. The Author had our individual needs in 
 mind when he inspired men to write the different 
 parts of the volume. And the messages thus prepared 
 will be understood by us if, before we read, and as we 
 read, we ask the Holy Spirit to enable us to under- 
 stand his mind and hear his voice speaking to us. 
 
 149 
 
XXVIII 
 
 LIVING ON GOD'S WORD^ 
 
 T EONIDAS HUBBARD was the editor of a maga- 
 -*— ' zine devoted to outdoor life and sports. In the 
 course of his work for his magazine he determined to 
 organize an expedition into the interior of Labrador, 
 that bleak, barren country which lies northeast of the 
 American continent. Explorers have not yet been able 
 to go far into the interior, so the country is practically 
 uncharted. With two companions Mr. Hubbard 
 started into this unknown interior. The party had to 
 hurry, as the summer there is very short. They could 
 not carry much food with them, so it was necessary 
 to depend on the game and fish killed by the way. 
 
 Ordinarily the game would have been sufficient for 
 their needs. But the year was unusual. Most of the 
 game had been killed during a winter of great severity. 
 
 Moreover, they lost their way. Instead of taking a 
 route which had been traversed by trappers before 
 them they followed an unknown stream where food 
 was scarcer than elsewhere. 
 
 Before they had been a month away from the coast 
 they were in straits for food. Then they started to 
 return. Sometimes fish were caught, but they were 
 small and unsatisfying. Once in a while a few birds 
 
 ' The story is told in " The Lure of the Labrador Wild," by 
 Dillon Wallace. 
 
LIVING ON GOD'S WORD 
 
 were bagged. Once, just once, a deer was killed. 
 For the most of the homeward journey, however, they 
 were almost entirely without food. 
 
 As they retraced their steps, they lived on remnants 
 which they had thrown away as they marched inland. 
 One day they found an old flour sack containing a little 
 moldy flour. At another time they found a bit of mus- 
 tard in a can. Again they found a lard pail which still 
 held some lard. 
 
 During these days of privation two of the party had 
 little better than the recollection of boyhood days on the 
 farm, and the bountiful table which had always been 
 ready for them there. But the third man, the editor, 
 was a Christian. He had been accustomed to read 
 God's Word. He had found delight in turning to one 
 passage after another. These passages had been stored 
 in his mind. They were ready for use in any time of 
 need. As Joseph in Egypt stored up grain for use in 
 time of famine, and as Job had stored up the words 
 of God's mouth more than his necessary food, so Mr. 
 Hubbard had stored up God's Word in his mind and 
 heart. Now was his time of need. He was starving in 
 body, but his soul did not have to starve. He had 
 food for it. And in feeding his soul he forgot his 
 bodily sufferings. He did not grow fretful and peev- 
 ish ; he grew more kindly, and thoughtful, and loving. 
 He was feeding on God's Word. 
 
 One morning the three men found that they had a 
 very small piece of bacon left. So they made some 
 very thin bacon soup. There was not much strength 
 in that soup, for on the previous day they had eaten 
 three meals from soup made with the same piece of 
 
 151 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 bacon. After breakfast two of the party turned away 
 to prepare for the day, and to forget their hunger as 
 best they could. But the Christian leader turned to 
 the Bible. He read the Epistle to Philemon and sev- 
 eral of the Psalms. He called his companions, and told 
 them of his reading. His faith communicated itself to 
 his comrades. They were helped. One of them wrote : 
 " These readings brought with them feelings of in- 
 describable comfort, and I fancy we all went to our 
 blankets content." 
 
 Think of it ! Content after a feast of bones which 
 had been lying on the ground for weeks ! 
 
 The seventeenth chapter of John was read on an 
 evening when the only hope of the party lay in finding, 
 next day, the head and hoofs of the one deer killed 
 long before. 
 
 On another day, when they had been eating their 
 moccasins, worn full of holes ; when they had cracked 
 the dry bones found before in search of a little mar- 
 row; when Mr. Hubbard had fallen by the wayside, 
 unable to move for weakness, the words which fed 
 them were those of Christ in the sixth chapter of 
 Matthew : '' Be not anxious, for your heavenly Father 
 knoweth that ye have need." 
 
 Next day they killed a jaybird. It was their only 
 food for twenty-four hours. But Mr. Hubbard read 
 the fifteenth chapter of John. And as he read of abid- 
 ing in Christ, he forgot the world and its sorrows. 
 
 At the end of another day of suffering, this was writ- 
 ten by one of the party : " The day has been cold and 
 damp. For supper we had a bunch of deer hide, and 
 water from the much-boiled bones. As we reclined in 
 
 152 
 
LIVING ON GOD'S WORD 
 
 the open front of the tent I again read from the Bible, 
 and again a feeling of religious exaltation came over 
 Mr. Hubbard." He said he was so happy. But his 
 companions noted that his condition was pitiable. Yet 
 he bore himself like a hero. 
 
 Next day he gave out completely. He urged his 
 comrades to leave him, that they might seek their 
 own safety. They agreed, hoping to return in three 
 days with help from the coast. Before the separation 
 Mr. Hubbard, too weak to read himself, asked to 
 hear the thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians and 
 the fourteenth chapter of John. So, thinking of the 
 love which suffereth long, and the appeal, '' let not 
 your heart be troubled," he watched the others leave 
 him. 
 
 We have the record of that last day written by his 
 own hand, and found long afterwards by the rescuing 
 party. He went within his tent. The fire died out for 
 lack of fuel. He drew the flap and lay down thinking 
 of the words : '' Let not your heart be troubled ; neither 
 let it be afraid. I go to prepare a place for you. And 
 I will come again and take you to myself." 
 
 The pencil dropped from his nerveless fingers. He 
 fell asleep, to wake in the presence of God, where he 
 would know no more of hunger or thirst; where there 
 would be no more pain, but only the joy for which he 
 had been getting ready on earth. 
 
 How fortunate Mr. Hubbard was! In the words of 
 one who commented on this story of faith, food '' could 
 never have healed his spirit, nor cheered his sinking 
 soul, nor given hope to his desponding mind, nor 
 pointed him to the way of rest, nor given assurance 
 
 153 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 of happiness beyond the grave." Food might have 
 given him strength to get to his New York home. But 
 he had something better : God's food, which gave him 
 strength to go straight to his heavenly home. He had 
 learned the lesson Christ taught when he said : " Man 
 shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that 
 proceedeth out of the mouth of God." 
 
 154 
 
SEVEN 
 AS LITTLE CHILDREN 
 
 155 
 
These lessons thou dost give 
 To teach me how to live, 
 To do, to bear, 
 To get, to share, 
 To work and play. 
 And trust alway. 
 
 — Maltbie D. Babcock. 
 
 156 
 
XXIX 
 WHY SHE WAS NOT AFRAID 
 
 'nr^HE hardest trials become easy to him who trusts 
 -■- in God. That sounds Hke a truism. Yet how 
 many Christians there are who forget this truth when 
 they most need to remember it! It would help such 
 Christians to read of the experiences of a lonely im- 
 migrant who was able to write : " My hope that the 
 Most High is leading me to that which he knows is 
 best for me and pleasing to him grows stronger from 
 day to day." 
 
 A little girl five years old taught a like lesson of 
 trust to her father during a time of depression and 
 doubt. One rainy evening, as he was about to go out 
 on the street, he asked her to bring to him his over- 
 shoes. He wondered why she hesitated before starting 
 to do as she was asked. The hesitation was over 
 quickly and she was already on her way when he real- 
 ized why she had waited. She was timid in the dark — 
 and he had sent her to a distant part of the house ! 
 
 His impulse was to call her back, but on second 
 thought he decided to let her go ahead. Eagerly he 
 awaited her return. His own heart was beating more 
 quickly as he followed her in thought down the dark 
 stairs, along the dark hall — he remembered then that 
 the lamp on the newel post had not been lighted — 
 through the dining room and the kitchen and out into 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 the shed, then back again to the stairs and to the room 
 where by this time he was pacing the floor in his 
 anxiety for her. 
 
 At length he heard her step behind him. He almost 
 feared to turn and look at her; probably she would 
 be on the verge of tears. 
 
 But when he did see her face he was astonished. 
 She was smiling ! His surprise found expression : 
 
 " Why, little girl, I thought you were afraid in the 
 dark!" 
 
 " Not now, father," was the glad response. " I was 
 afraid, once. But I cannot be afraid any more." 
 
 ^'Why, little girl?" 
 
 '' Because of a verse teacher gave me at Sunday 
 school. I said it over Sunday night when I couldn't 
 sleep, and it was dark, and I felt like crying — like this : 
 ' I will both lay me down in peace and sleep, for thou. 
 Lord, only keepest me in safety.' I wasn't afraid any 
 more. To-night I didn't need the first part, so I just 
 said over the last bit, * For thou, Lord, only keepest me 
 in safety ! ' I said that all the way downstairs and all 
 the way back." 
 
 " And what did that mean to you, little girl ? " her 
 father asked. 
 
 " Why, father, it seemed to me just as if Jesus was 
 holding my hand all the way, and you know I couldn't 
 be afraid then." 
 
 158 
 
XXX 
 
 A BOY'S LESSON 
 
 JOHN TIMOTHY STONE, D.D., told the author 
 of this volume the following incident of his boy- 
 hood. 
 
 '* Two of three ladies who were teachers in the 
 primary and junior department of our Sunday school 
 once asked me if I would go with them on a Sunday- 
 school outing they were giving to the little children. 
 
 " We were to go in one of those old-fashioned 
 carryalls that would hold about twenty adults, and we 
 had about thirty or thirty-five children packed into 
 that wagon. Every precaution had been taken in the 
 selection of a driver, but still I felt somewhat uneasy, 
 as the driver did not seem to be entirely himself. I 
 asked to sit with him on the front seat, and soon dis- 
 covered that he was under the influence of liquor. 
 
 " I made an excuse to stop at a certain store near 
 by, at the top of a long hill, at the bottom of which 
 we were to cross one of the busiest railroads in that 
 part of New York State. I went into the store where 
 I meant to get help. He agreed to wait until I re- 
 turned. What was my surprise and alarm, upon com- 
 ing out, to find that the team was going at full gallop 
 down this hill, and to see in the distance an approach- 
 ing train. 
 
 " It was impossible to hail the driver; it was impos- 
 159 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 sible to stop him. The women and children knew 
 nothing of the danger, and were rather enjoying the 
 ride. I did not know what to do, so I went in the 
 pasture, and kneeling under an apple tree, poured out 
 my heart to God, asking him for his help and protec- 
 tion. 
 
 " A great sense of peace came over me at once. 
 Then I hurried down the hill, thanking God for deliver- 
 ance as I ran, for I felt sure that there would be no 
 accident. 
 
 ** And sure enough ! the driver came to his senses, 
 reined in the horses, and stopped at the bottom of the 
 hill. 
 
 " There was no accident, but my lesson had been 
 learned. I had realized, even as a boy, what faith and 
 prayer will do, and that we have a right to leave a 
 situation with God and trust him, after we have done 
 our full part." 
 
 1 60 
 
XXXI 
 
 THEIR SIMPLE FAITH 
 
 " TT seems to us that Korean Christians are more 
 ■*■ like the Christians of apostoHc days than any- 
 other converts on the mission field," a missionary who 
 has spent her life in Korea has said; " they delight in 
 the Bible, they are filled with the Holy Spirit, and they 
 are men and women of sublime faith." 
 
 Rev. E. Wade Koons ^ has told of a few of the 
 converts whose lives bear testimony to the truth of this 
 judgment. 
 
 One of these was Yi, and his story was told thus : 
 *' In the winter of 1906-07 the churches in Korea 
 were the scene of a remarkable revival. It took the 
 form of an awakening among the Christians, rather 
 than an increase in the number of those who were giv- 
 ing up their former heathen practices and coming into 
 the church. 
 
 " Prayer meetings were held night after night, and 
 many of the older members made public confession of 
 grave faults and grievous sins. Many of these ante- 
 dated the conversion of the perpetrators, and others 
 were pride or anger or jealousy, which they would not 
 have considered at all culpable in former days. 
 
 " Many of the men who made these confessions had 
 to sell their houses or other property to make restitu- 
 
 * In " The Missionary Review of the World." 
 161 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 tion for wrongs that would never have been laid at 
 their door but for these voluntary confessions, and 
 more than one unbeliever was astonished to find himself 
 the richer by several hundred dollars, the long-delayed 
 results of some transaction of former years. 
 
 " At the Presbyterian Church in Chung Wha, a 
 large town fifteen miles south of Pyeng Yang, there 
 was a young man named Yi, who had for several 
 years been a respected resident of the place and had 
 joined the church some months before the revival be- 
 gan. No one knew much about him, and there was 
 nothing against him, beyond the fact that he was a 
 comparative stranger. 
 
 " One night he rose at the meeting and made a con- 
 fession substantially as follows: * Before I came here 
 to live, I had been the worst kind of profligate, and 
 after wasting all my own property, I turned to high- 
 way robbery as a way to eat and live. In a robber raid 
 I killed a man of such and such a village so many years 
 ago.' Naturally the village was much excited over the 
 matter, and the news traveled as news can in the East, 
 which had a * wireless telegraph ' ages before Marconi 
 was born. 
 
 " The policemen at Whang Ju, the nearest city, 
 thought they saw a chance to turn a penny for them- 
 selves, so came and arrested the young man, who dis- 
 appointed them by saying philosophically, 'If I am 
 to go to prison, prison is for me,' so in a little while 
 they turned him loose in disgust. So much for the 
 Korean police, but it was not long before the Japanese 
 police heard of the matter, and Yi was informed that 
 they were coming for him, and this time all his friends 
 
 162 
 
THEIR SIMPLE FAITH 
 
 advised him to run away, but he refused to go, in- 
 sisting that he had no other ' mind ' than to take what- 
 ever punishment was coming to him, and in a little 
 while he found himself in the ' Ka Mak So,' or com- 
 mon prison at Hai Ju, sentenced to fifteen years. For 
 most men a sentence like this would be reason enough 
 for black despair, if not for suicide. 
 
 " But Yi found that the gospel that had prompted 
 the confession that brought him there, had power 
 enough to comfort him, and while his old mother, who 
 had followed him all the way from home, was manag- 
 ing, by day labor, when she could get work, and by beg- 
 ging, when there was no way to earn a little money, to 
 get food enough for her son and herself (for the 
 prisoners must in those days be fed by their friends or 
 starve), he was preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ 
 to the mixed and ever-changing population of the jail, 
 and like another prisoner ' his bonds became manifest ' 
 through the whole province. 
 
 " His case was finally taken up by some friends 
 among the leading men of the church, both Americans 
 and Koreans. A petition stating the facts of the case, 
 and emphasizing the voluntary nature of the confes- 
 sion, as well as the prisoner's good conduct in jail, was 
 drawn up, and after it had been signed by those who 
 were in a position to know about the matter, was 
 presented to Chief Justice Watanabe, the head of the 
 Japanese judiciary in Korea, himself an elder in the 
 Presbyterian Church. He made a careful investiga- 
 tion, which resulted in the pardoning of Yi." 
 
 Another story of faith is that of the woman Sang, 
 of Chai Kyung, who was a member of a little church 
 
 163 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 whose members suffered severely from persecution. 
 Men fell away from the church, and the building was 
 about to be sold. 
 
 But Sang by faith saw the day when the little 
 church would become a powerful witness for God in 
 all that city. " She bought the building, occupying it 
 as her own home, opened a school for boys, and 
 finally arranged with a neighboring group of Chris- 
 tians to send a leader each Sunday to stimulate the 
 few disciples whom she could bring together." 
 
 Some years later a mission station was opened at 
 Chai Kyung. Sang rejoiced at the coming of the 
 missionaries, and was glad to cooperate with them in 
 the work of the church. Soon the thirty believers who 
 had gathered around her became two hundred and 
 fifty. Before she died the number was about six hun- 
 dred. " She saw the building that she had bought and 
 held for a church crowded with women, while the men 
 stood outside in the freezing winter weather. She 
 helped to build the new church, which was the largest 
 building in the province." The ordinary Sunday con- 
 gregation gathered in this building was seven hundred 
 people or more. 
 
 In the winter of 1909-10, the Christians of Eul Yul 
 decided to send two of their number to live in a 
 heathen village, and work for the salvation of the 
 people. Those chosen were Quam and his wife. 
 Quam was an old man, an ignorant farmer, who for 
 years had been acting pastor of the Eul Yul church. 
 
 When the opportunity was presented to him and to 
 his wife, they did not find it difficult to decide. They 
 knew that life would not be easy in the heathen village, 
 
 164 
 
THEIR SIMPLE FAITH 
 
 whch was seven miles from their own home. But, 
 trusting God for the future, they packed up their 
 worldly goods and went out to what must have seemed 
 like exile. 
 
 Almost at once a few began to show an interest in 
 the gospel. " At the end of the first year there was a 
 congregation of twenty or more. At the end of the 
 second year a few were ready to be taken in as cate- 
 chumens, and a man and his wife came to Eul Yul to 
 be baptized and received into the church. In the spring 
 of 19 12, when the missionary in charge went to visit 
 the field, he found forty people ready to be examined, 
 and he baptized thirty of them. In 19 13 the congre- 
 gation averaged nearly one hundred." 
 
 The island of Cho Do, ten miles off the Korean 
 coast, did not have to wait for the coming of a mis- 
 sionary to hear the gospel. An old man, named O, was 
 one of the few inhabitants of the island who found 
 their way to the mainland. He heard of Jesus Christ 
 and believed in him. At once he made up his mind 
 that it was for him to tell his neighbors the good news. 
 He was not dismayed by the size of his task, nor was 
 he troubled at thought of the jeers of those who would 
 not care for his message. 
 
 Wherever he went he invited his neighbors to be- 
 come Christians. Some of them would go to his home 
 to hear more of the gospel story. In time a little con- 
 gregation gathered on Sunday to listen to his explana- 
 tion of the Bible. 
 
 Before long his knowledge was exhausted. But he 
 was not ready to tell the people he could give them no 
 more help. He knew that on the mainland were mis- 
 
 165 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 sionaries who would teach him. So he crossed over, 
 and asked for admission to the primary school at the 
 mission. There among the small boys — the old man 
 sat on the floor and learned the truth for his people. 
 When spring came, he returned to the island, and 
 once more he gathered the eager learners about him. 
 In time several of them, who were men of greater in- 
 tellectual power, advanced further than he in Chris- 
 tian knowledge and experience. Then he was content 
 to let them take the lead, while once more he took the 
 learner's place, rejoicing as he looked upon the com- 
 pany of believers who owed their coming out of dark- 
 ness into light to his simple faith. 
 
 i66 
 
XXXII 
 
 FOUR CHRISTIANS WHO PRAYED 
 
 "/^ NE of the hardest tasks I ever performed was 
 ^^ thrust upon me one night when I had to tell a 
 mother that her daughter had been drowned," was the 
 word of a Christian man to friends who were talking 
 of the test of faith. Then he explained that he dreaded 
 a hysterical outcry. 
 
 But there was no need to fear for her. As she 
 listened to the message, she burst into tears; then 
 she fell on her knees and prayed in wondrous faith. 
 First she thanked God for the years she and her daugh- 
 ter had spent together, and for all that those years had 
 meant to her, and to their friends. Then she asked 
 for strength to bear her loss in such a way that she 
 might be a help and not a hindrance to others who 
 knew sorrow and suffering. 
 
 " Never before did I so realize the strength of the 
 Christian faith," said the man who had dreaded to 
 tell the news. *^ The reality of faith in God was im- 
 pressed on me as never before." 
 
 The story of another Christian's prayer of faith was 
 once told by Dr. A. T. Pierson : 
 
 " More than half a century ago George Miiller began 
 to pray for a group of friends. I asked Mr. Miiller a 
 short time before he died if he had asked anything of 
 God that had not been granted, and he told me he 
 
 16;; 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 had prayed sixty-two years, three months, five days, 
 two hours — with his mathematical precision — for 
 two men to be converted, and neither of them showed 
 any signs of that happening. I said, ' Do you expect 
 God to convert them ? ' ' Certainly. Do you suppose 
 that God would put upon his child for sixty-two years 
 the burden of two souls if he had no purpose of their 
 conversion?' Shortly afterward he died, and I was 
 preaching in his pulpit, in Bristol, and referred to this 
 occurrence. As I was going out a lady said : ' One of 
 those men was my uncle, and he was converted, and 
 died a few weeks ago.' I understand that the other 
 man was brought to Christ in Dublin." 
 
 One whose faith has helped thousands has reported 
 the case of the mother of four children who was 
 suddenly bereft of her husband. She took up her 
 burden with calmness and patience, toiling early and 
 late that her children might obtain an education. A 
 friend said to her one day, " Do you never get tired or 
 discouraged?" "Oh, yes!" was the reply; "quite 
 often, but when I think I can go no further, or do no 
 more, I go and rest in my easy-chair." " Easy-chair? " 
 said her friend, looking around the bare room. " Yes," 
 said the woman, " would you like to see it ? Come 
 with me." She led her into a small, scantily furnished 
 bedroom, and, taking her by the hand, knelt by the bed- 
 side, and the toil-worn, burdened woman prayed as if 
 she was face to face with God. Rising, she said, 
 " Now I feel rested, and am ready for work again. 
 Prayer is my easy-chair." 
 
 There is no home so low or humble, no life so bare 
 or destitute, but can have the easy-chair of prayer. 
 
 i68 
 
FOUR CHRISTIANS WHO PRAYED 
 
 The author of '' A Struggle for a Soul " has told 
 of a convert from Hindooism who early learned to 
 have recourse to this easy-chair : She longed to spend 
 a Sunday with other Christians in praise and prayer. 
 But there were no other Christians in the village ; and 
 she felt sad and lonely. Moreover, all the villagers 
 were going to their ordinary field work, and expected 
 her to do the same. However, she resolved to keep 
 that Sunday. Tying some cold rice in a bundle, and 
 calling a neighbor's little daughter, she set out for a 
 lonely place in the hills far away from the village. 
 There she held services. She knew only two lyrics, but 
 these she sang over and over again, and told the little 
 girl with her the few stories she knew about Jesus, and 
 in two or three broken sentences offered prayer. At 
 midday they ate the cold rice and lay down to rest, 
 then sang the lyrics again ; and as the sun went down 
 she returned to the village, her heart comforted and 
 gladdened, she knew not how. " Where have you been 
 all day?" asked the astonished neighbors. ''It's the 
 Christians' holy day," she replied; "we have been 
 keeping it in the wilderness." 
 
 Those who sneer that faith is nonsense, that prayer 
 is an empty form, can find no answer to testimonies like 
 these. 
 
 169 
 
XXXIII 
 A THANKFUL WOMAN 
 
 "1 T /"HEN I first saw her, she was forlorn, discour- 
 ^^ aged, sad, and, if the truth must be told, dirty. 
 
 She lived in a two-room tenement in a back alley. 
 The chance visitor climbed the outside stairs to her 
 door with fear and trembling; he was sure the next 
 step would bring the structure, and him, to the ground. 
 
 The interior was as forlorn as the housewife; a few 
 broken bits of furniture, an old stove, a bare floor. 
 Seven children, all under working age, found shel- 
 ter there, and, the explanation of all the wretchedness, 
 a drunken husband. The babe was too young to permit 
 the mother to go out to wash, as she had been accus- 
 tomed. With no outlook beyond the alley, is it strange 
 if she was forlorn? 
 
 Then a Sunday-school teacher found his way into 
 the room. He had places in his class for such likely 
 boys as her three eldest. Would they come? They 
 had been asked that question many times before and 
 had scorned the invitation. But they took a fancy to 
 this manly young fellow, and hunted him up. 
 
 Within a few weeks there was a transformation; 
 clothes and shoes were brushed, after a fashion; and 
 hands and faces were washed — that is, to definitely 
 marked lines on wrists and neck. 
 
 Then the mother became interested and found the 
 170 
 
A THANKFUL WOMAN 
 
 way to church. She kept on coming, went through the 
 cleansing process, and united with the church. 
 
 The chance visitor to the home noted improvements. 
 The floor was just as bare, but it was scrubbed. The 
 furniture was still decrepit, but it seemed to have been 
 (in some way) rejuvenated. Every inch of the two 
 rooms was improved, though it would have been diffi- 
 cult to define the improvement. 
 
 The husband still drank. He abused wife and chil- 
 dren for going to church. But somehow she was 
 happy. The forlorn, discouraged look was a thing of 
 the past. 
 
 She was found in the prayer meeting, as well as at 
 the church services. While others took part, she lis- 
 tened attentively. Sometimes the leader thought she 
 was about to speak, but each time reserve conquered, 
 and she was silent. At length, after three years, 
 when the pastor under whose ministry she had united 
 with the church was about to leave, she felt she could 
 not wait longer. It was his last prayer meeting. The 
 testimonies had taken a thanksgiving turn when she 
 saw her opportunity: 
 
 " I want to tell how happy I am, and how good God 
 has been to me," she began. *' We have a comfort- 
 able home, and clothing to keep us warm ; my children 
 have enough to eat and to drink; there is coal for the 
 fire, and a little money for the church. I can't read, 
 but I get to go to service, and God teaches me out of 
 the Bible. Yes, he has been good to me." 
 
 As she ceased, her eyes were filled with tears. Many 
 wept with her. How could they help it, when they 
 knew what was back of the earnest testimony? 
 
 171 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 Yes, she had a home — the home with the rickety 
 stairs, paid for week after week by scrubbing brush 
 and washboard, though she had Httle strength for the 
 lightest tasks. The family had clothes — only the most 
 wretched second-hand dealer would have looked at 
 them. There were food and drink enough, in a way, 
 for the children; not for herself. Coal — when she 
 would gather it from the tracks, or could persuade the 
 boys to find it for her. Church — paid for, frequently, 
 by a knock-down blow if her lord and master chose to 
 give it when she returned. Money for the offering — 
 yes, sometimes all her living, given with the spirit 
 which called forth the Lord's commendation of the 
 widow. 
 
 There was silence for a space in that prayer-meeting 
 room. Then, spontaneously, there was the sound of 
 
 " Praise God from whom all blessings flow ; 
 Praise him all creatures here below; 
 Praise him, above, ye heavenly host; 
 Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost." 
 
 172 
 
EIGHT 
 IN GOD'S KEEPING 
 
 173 
 
" Not as I will ! "—the sound grows sweet 
 Each time my lips the words repeat. 
 " Not as I will ! " — the darkness feels 
 More safe than light when this thought steals 
 Like whispered voice to calm and bless 
 All unrest and all loneliness. 
 " Not as I will " — because the One 
 Who loved us first and best has gone 
 Before us on the road, and still 
 For us must all his love fulfill — 
 "Not as we will." 
 
 —Helen Hunt Jackson. 
 
 174 
 
XXXIV 
 
 THE GOOD HAND OF OUR GOD 
 
 T3 Y the kindness of the king of Babylon, a company 
 "^ of captive Jews was permitted to return, under the 
 guidance of Ezra, to their own city, Jerusalem, where 
 they were to rebuild the temple and reestablish divine 
 worship. Many were eager to take advantage of the 
 offer. Life was easier, perhaps, in Babylon, but it was 
 a foreign land, and they had not the opportunity to 
 worship God as they were bidden, in his own temple. 
 God can be worshiped anywhere, and some of the peo- 
 ple realized this. Yet they longed for the city made 
 sacred by many generations of seeking God there. 
 
 The king offered Ezra a guard of soldiers for the 
 long desert journey. But Ezra would not take them; 
 he preferred to teach the people by example that his 
 dependence was on God, who would guide and protect 
 those who believed in him. He said to the king, in 
 answer to his offer, '' The good hand of our God is 
 upon all them for good that seek him." 
 
 Ezra had ground for his confidence. God had been 
 with him and had blessed him. He was glad to give 
 his testimony in gratitude for God's guidance and 
 blessing. 
 
 Ezra was not the only one to testify in this way. 
 Millions have testified. The Bible is full of the record, 
 and each record throws new light on the words of 
 
 175 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 Nehemiah : " The good hand of our God is upon all 
 them for good that seek him." 
 
 Nehemiah spoke of God's hand as a powerful hand 
 when he asked for God's blessing for his people *' whom 
 thou hast redeemed by thy power and by thy strong 
 hand." 
 
 Jacob spoke of God's hand as a strengthening hand 
 when he gave his dying blessing to his son Joseph. 
 He mentioned the fact that Joseph had been in sore 
 trouble, " but his bow abode in strength, and the arms 
 of his hands were made strong by the mighty God of 
 Jacob." 
 
 David thought of God's hand as an upholding hand. 
 Speaking of the man who trusts in God, he said: 
 "Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; 
 for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand." Again he 
 prayed: " Thy right hand upholdeth me." God's peo- 
 ple have the assurance of God himself that he will 
 strengthen them. These are his words : ** Fear thou 
 not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am 
 thy God; I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; 
 yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my 
 righteousness." 
 
 Moses, in giving his farewell to the Israelites, whom 
 he had led out of Egypt, said : '' The eternal God is thy 
 refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms." 
 
 The hand of God is a healing hand. When a leper 
 came to Jesus, saying, " Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst 
 make me clean," it is written, *' And the Lord put 
 forth his hand and healed him." 
 
 God's hand is a providing hand. One of the Jews 
 wrote of God : *' Thou openest thy hand and satisfiest 
 
 176 
 
THE GOOD HAND OF OUR GOD 
 
 the desire of every living creature." This was the ex- 
 perience of missionary fugitives in China in the days 
 of the Boxer uprising. Stripped almost naked, the 
 fugitives had escaped for the moment from the pursu- 
 ing mob. " Worn out with all that we had already 
 gone through that day, rain-bedraggled and oh! so 
 hungry, our plight seemed more hopeless than ever. 
 It was just now, when in some dejection we were wan- 
 dering on to we knew not what of fresh buffetings and 
 cruelty, that the Lord gave us another token that he 
 was with us and tenderly caring for us. . . . Two men 
 were seen coming over the field, and presently they 
 called for us. Not knowing whether they were for or 
 against us, Sheng-min answered the summons, and 
 after a word with them bade us come. One of the 
 two proved to be a gentleman from Lu-an city. With 
 much compassion in his look and voice, he said : * I am 
 sorry for you. I would assist you, but am helpless to 
 do so. Certain death awaits you; you cannot escape 
 it. There are people there and there (pointing warn- 
 ingly) waiting to kill you. I would urge you, how- 
 ever, under any circumstances, to avoid the village 
 before you. And yet I know,' he added, ' that you can- 
 not go far without losing your lives. It is very, very 
 hard for you,' and with that he handed me twenty-five 
 cash, saying, ' Take this; it is all I have on me.' His 
 companion then came forward, and, without saying 
 more than ' K'o lien, k'o lien ' — ' I am so sorry for 
 you ' — thrust into my hand a tin of condensed milk 
 which he had recovered from the plundered supply of 
 our litters. What these words and acts of mercy meant 
 to us at that juncture I cannot express. We were 
 
 177 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 much moved. . . . Again and again we thanked our 
 kind benefactors in the name of the Lord Jesus." 
 
 God's hand is still more — it is a defending and de- 
 livering hand. It gives physical deliverance. In the 
 words of the Psalmist : " God brought Israel out from 
 among them with a strong hand and with a stretched- 
 out arm." 
 
 That God gives spiritual deliverance, David testified 
 when he said, *' Into thy hand I commit my spirit," 
 while Isaiah said, '* Behold the Lord's hand is not 
 shortened that it cannot save." 
 
 This is an attractive picture, surely. And the best 
 of it is everyone has the privilege of having the good 
 hand of Ezra's God laid upon him, to strengthen, to 
 uphold, to heal, to provide, to defend, to deliver. 
 
 178 
 
XXXV 
 GOD IN OUR EVERYDAY LIFE 
 
 " f F all the reasoned arguments in support of Chris- 
 
 -■• tianity were destroyed," says Robert E. Speer, 
 " Peter Carter and the two or three men like him I 
 have known would remain for me as its impregnable 
 basis and defense." 
 
 The secret of Peter Carter's life was that he lived 
 with God. He was on familiar terms with God. His 
 face was always lighted up from within by the light 
 of Christ. During his last days he was often heard 
 murmuring, *' My dear Lord Jesus ! My dear Lord 
 Jesus ! " And they were very dear to one another. 
 
 His children loved him, for their instincts told them 
 that he was one of God's friends. Once a visitor to a 
 Sunday school asked the children if they knew who 
 the Good Shepherd was. "Oh, yes!" they replied; 
 '' Mr. Peter Carter." And he was to them truly the 
 representative of that Good Shepherd who took the 
 lambs in his bosom. 
 
 There is no mystery about such a life. Its power 
 came from abiding in God's presence. Mr. Carter was 
 not content with visiting God now and then, but he 
 sought him continually. He practiced the presence of 
 God as faithfully as Brother Lawrence, the Carmelite 
 monk in Paris, who said of his life : " The time of 
 business does not with me differ from the time of 
 
 179 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 prayer; and in the noise and clutter of my kitchen, 
 while several persons are at the same time calling for 
 different things, I possess God in as great tranquillity 
 as if I were on my knees at the blessed sacrament." 
 He asked God's help in every little thing, and help 
 was never lacking. He did his work in God's presence. 
 
 Christians are accustomed to think of Bible reading 
 and prayer as means of seeking God and learning to 
 know him. But it is not easy to realize that the hours 
 not devoted to these exercises may be spent with God 
 just as surely. 
 
 " Some of my happiest moments of communion with 
 my Father are the moments when I hold to a strap 
 in the crowded street car or when I sit at my desk, 
 with work crowding me hard," a busy man has said. 
 He could understand the words of Brother Lawrence : 
 
 " It's a great delusion to think that the time of 
 prayer should be different from other times. We are 
 as strictly obliged to adhere to God by action in the 
 time of action as by prayer in the time of prayer." 
 
 When the appointed time of prayer was past he 
 turned to the business of the day and said to God: 
 " O my God, since I must now, in obedience to thy 
 commands, apply my mind to these outward things, I 
 beseech thee to grant me thy grace to continue in thy 
 presence.'* 
 
 The man who lives thus in the presence of God 
 is safe from all danger. There is in the West a species 
 of antelope that prepares a place for its young by 
 springing into a thick clump of cactus and trampling 
 down the plants in the center of the clump. There the 
 young antelope is reared. No enemy can pass the 
 
 1 80 
 
GOD IN OUR EVERYDAY LIFE 
 
 barrier of cactus to reach the helpless fawn, though 
 the mother can jump in and out at will. So God places 
 his people who abide in him under his wings. He can 
 reach them, but no enemy can come near. They are 
 safe. 
 
 But does not evil sometimes come to the Christian? 
 Does he not have sorrows and disappointments, anxie- 
 ties and burdens ? Then, what is the use of being God's 
 man? 
 
 The answer is easy. Better is It to know misfortune 
 and have God's help in it, than not to be unfortunate 
 at all. Better to be afflicted and comforted by him than 
 to be free from anxiety and pain and have nothing 
 from God. 
 
 The Christian's blessing comes in the ability to take 
 everything to God and in the realization that God is 
 ready to help him at all times, for he says : 
 
 "He shall call upon me, and I will answer him; 
 I will be with him in trouble; 
 I will deliver him and honor him. 
 With long life will I satisfy him, 
 And show him my salvation." 
 
 i8i 
 
XXXVI 
 
 GOD KNOWS 
 
 /'^OD knows our temptations. He understands ex- 
 ^^ actly how hard it is for us to do what he asks of 
 us. He does not expect impossibilities. " He knoweth 
 our frame; he remembereth that we are dust." The 
 architect knows to an ounce just what every girder in 
 the steel building can stand, and he apportions the 
 loads accordingly. God knows what we can stand, if 
 we trust in his strength and not in our own, and he 
 permits no temptation to come to us that we cannot 
 resist. His knowledge has been tested by his own ex- 
 perience, for Jesus was '' in all points tempted like as' 
 we are, yet without sin." 
 
 God knows our good points. There is no need to 
 fear that he will not appreciate every evidence of 
 desire to please him. This is a comfort when we are 
 misunderstood by some of those about us. Christ said, 
 when he saw Nathanael approaching him, " Behold an 
 Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile ! " He looked 
 upon the rich young man and loved him, because he 
 knew all that was good in him. Shall we not see to it 
 that there is something worthy for God to see when 
 he looks on us? 
 
 God knows our bad points, every one of them. It is 
 of no use to hide them from him. We may succeed in 
 deceiving others, but we cannot deceive God. To the 
 woman of Samaria, Jesus revealed her inmost heart, so 
 
 182 
 
GOD KNOWS 
 
 that in wonder she sought her friends, saying, '' Come, 
 see a man who told me all things that ever I did." The 
 best thing for us to do is to submit ourselves to God's 
 searching gaze, that he may tell us all that is wrong in 
 our lives. The revelation must come before the cure. 
 
 To-day God uses his knowledge of the evil in our 
 lives to warn us of our danger and call us to repentance. 
 This was the meaning of his words to Cain, *' Sin couch- 
 eth at the door," of his message to David, '' Thou art 
 the man," of Christ's words to Peter, " Satan asked 
 to have you, that he may sift you as wheat." Blessed 
 is that man who heeds the warning when it is given to- 
 day, and by fleeing to Christ prepares himself for that 
 time when God shall use his knowledge of the hearts of 
 men to warn the unrepentant, " Depart from me, ye 
 cursed." 
 
 God knows the disappointments that are in store for 
 us, and he shows us how to avoid them. When Israel 
 demanded a king, he warned them that a king would 
 bring them sorrow, yet they persisted, saying, '' Nay; 
 but we will have a king." God tells us that the way 
 to avoid disappointments is to give our lives into his 
 charge, and let him do as he will with us. 
 
 God knows what we need before we ask him. Then 
 why ask him for anything? Why not simply leave 
 everything in his hands, confident that he will supply 
 all our needs? Simply because this is not his wish. 
 He says, " Ask and it shall be given you." 
 
 God knows us and he knows everything about us. 
 Then what? Faith, of course, absolute, unquestioning 
 faith. How wonderfully God blesses those who trust 
 him fully! 
 
 183 
 
XXXVII 
 
 IN UNEXPECTED WAYS 
 
 T ONG years the people of Judah lived in captivity 
 -■— ' in Babylon, where they had been taken as a pun- 
 ishment for national and personal sin. Their hearts 
 were sad as they thought of their own land and their 
 longing to go back to it. But they began to fear that 
 the day of return would never come, in spite of the 
 fact that God had promised he would restore them to 
 their own land. 
 
 But God is a God of love ; he is ever mindful of his 
 people. They were far from home, but he did not 
 forget them. His enemies said he was a God powerful 
 only in certain districts; that outside of the land by the 
 Mediterranean his power was of no avail. But God 
 showed that his people were not beyond the reach of 
 his loving care. They were still within the circle of 
 his hand, still upheld by his mighty arm. He remem- 
 bered them and the days when they served him. He 
 told them that even if he had forsaken them, or seemed 
 to forsake them, it was only for a moment ; that with 
 loving-kindness he would draw them back to home and 
 native land. God mindful of his own : that is the God 
 presented to our view in this first chapter of Ezra, as he 
 is presented to our view every day of our lives. 
 
 He had promised Abraham and Isaac and Jacob not 
 to forsake their seed. He had promised David that 
 
 184 
 
IN UNEXPECTED WAYS 
 
 the kingdom should continue. He had promised, and 
 he would perform. The people had heard his word that 
 he would restore them to their place; restored they 
 should be, and that right speedily. 
 
 But, then, how would he do this? Cyrus was a 
 powerful king. Yes, but God is King of kings. Not 
 only is he powerful in the heavens, but upon the earth 
 there is none who can stay his hand or say unto him, 
 ''What doest thou?" No one; not even the mighty 
 king of Persia himself, who was feared for a thousand 
 miles around, who had subdued provinces and king- 
 doms almost without number, who never thought of 
 resistance being offered to his word ! Cyrus was king, 
 but God was King over Cyrus. Cyrus was powerful, 
 but God was more powerful than he. And Cyrus was 
 to do what God wanted him to do, just because God 
 wanted him to do it. 
 
 With a God like that what reason had the banished 
 Israelites for despair? With a God like this, what rea- 
 son has any man to despair? 
 
 What an unlikely instrument Cyrus would have 
 seemed for the deliverance of Israel! How many 
 times the Israelites must have smiled as they read the 
 prophecy in Isaiah which seemed to indicate that Cyrus 
 would send them back home. " Some other Cyrus 
 must be meant in the word of prophecy," they would 
 say, " Surely not this haughty king whose lowest 
 courtiers pass us with scorn, whose thoughts are never 
 given to us, except to glory in our exile. Deliverance; 
 yes, it may be, some day, but not by the hand of 
 Cyrus." 
 
 Cyrus himself would have thought it unlikely — 
 
 185 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 beforehand. Probably crushing the Israelites, punish- 
 ing them, torturing them, would have been more to his 
 way of thinking. But release them, help them home, 
 assist them in rebuilding their ruined homes and 
 capital — hardly that! 
 
 But all that seemed so unlikely came to pass. For 
 God spoke to Cyrus, and Cyrus set himself to obey 
 God's will. " The Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus." 
 
 Thus Cyrus, the haughty eastern monarch, Cyrus, 
 the unlikely, became the ready instrument in God's 
 hands for the doing of his will. 
 
 All honor to Cyrus. He might have resisted the 
 Spirit of God when his spirit was stirred up. Men do 
 resist God, to their sorrow. But Cyrus, stirred by the 
 Spirit, turned to do the Lord's will. 
 
 God is never at a loss for some one to do his will. 
 God's work is to be done. Men fret sometimes because 
 they see it lag so; there is so much opposition. 
 Wickedness seems triumphant. Christians are help- 
 less, or think they are. '' The world is going to the 
 dogs," they say. The difficulty with them is that they 
 are forgetting about God, who rules the affairs of all 
 men. 
 
 God is mindful of the world's needs. He has prom- 
 ised; his promises are in his Word. Men must read 
 them, believe them, must work and pray for their ful- 
 fillment, and the reward will come, the reward of those 
 who seek the glory of the Lord. For God brings 
 about glorious results in the most unexpected ways and 
 from the most unlikely quarters. 
 
 Consciously or unconsciously, the world's leaders, 
 as well as more obscure men and women, are assisting 
 
 1 86 
 
IN UNEXPECTED WAYS 
 
 the progress of the gospel. Under secular auspices 
 scientists go to the ruined cities of the East and dis- 
 cover long-buried proofs of the authenticity of state- 
 ments in the Bible. Scoffers for years sneer at the 
 Bible because it mentions a certain Roman governor 
 who never ruled, they say. But a coin is dug from 
 the dirt of a little Mediterranean isle, and lo ! the pic- 
 ture and name of the governor appear as the Bible 
 said. 
 
 So God uses the researches of the archeologist, the 
 geologist, and the astronomer. His kingdom is has- 
 tened by the telegraph and the railway. These have 
 been built for other purposes; God, the all-powerful, 
 employs them for his ends. 
 
 As Cyrus seemed a most unlikely instrument for 
 the restoration of the Jews, yet was used, so in the 
 Middle Ages it seemed as though the Church of God 
 v^s in danger of extinction through decay. But God 
 used one of the most unlikely instruments to lead 
 the battle against the vices which were sapping the life 
 of his church. 
 
 So in every age, in every country, there are men — 
 unlikely men, the world would say — who hear God's 
 voice, then quietly go ahead and execute his commands. 
 There was a John the Baptist in the days before Christ, 
 there was a Paul in the days after Christ. There has 
 been in our own time a Judson opening the way to 
 heathen lands. But no one would have chosen these men 
 for the work they did. There has been a Lincoln to 
 emancipate the slaves, and a Grant to lead the Union 
 armies to victory. There has been a Moody to inspire 
 the Church and to lead thousands to the cross. Un- 
 
 187 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 likely instruments, all of them, men would have said; 
 but God thought otherwise. 
 
 He stirred their hearts to do his work, and to-day 
 he is stirring the hearts of others. 
 
 Some resist, and their lives amount to little or 
 nothing. Some try to follow where God leads. In 
 proportion to their obedience, they are successful. 
 
 i88 
 
XXXVI II 
 THE SLEEPLESS WATCHER 
 
 A PICTURE popular in many homes represents a 
 -^ ^ little child leaning over the brink of a precipice 
 in the attempt to pick a flower. Hovering over him 
 is the figure of an angel, watching him with hand out- 
 stretched, ready to pluck him out of the way of danger. 
 That is a picture of God's dealings; he is the sleepless 
 guardian of those who give themselves to him, for pro- 
 tection. 
 
 He will give his angels charge over thee, 
 To keep thee in all thy ways. 
 They shall bear thee up in their hands, 
 Lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. 
 
 Dangers come to those who trust God, as to all men. 
 But they are not overwhelmed. Deliverance is given 
 to them from their troubles. It is impossible for dis- 
 aster to overtake the children of the ever-watching 
 God. Disasters may come, but they are not real dis- 
 asters; blessing will come out of them, for God has 
 promised. 
 
 A rebuke was given to those who complain be- 
 cause of their hard lot in life when, in a daily 
 newspaper, a letter was printed from a woman 
 who had gone to work in a factory when she 
 was thirteen years old. After a few years she 
 married. Soon after, her husband contracted con- 
 
 189 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 sumption, and the burden of the family's support 
 was thrown on her. Because of rheumatism, she had 
 to work with her right hand bandaged, then with both 
 hands bandaged, and she could only crawl to her worl^. 
 The husband died. Abscesses on the hand compelled 
 the widow to relinquish work. Hand and foot had to 
 be operated on; part of one foot and all of the right 
 hand were taken away. She learned to write with her 
 left hand. Her old employer kept her at work. 
 
 And she wrote — to complain? No; to tell how 
 happy she was. But how could she be happy ? Let her 
 tell her own secret: 
 
 " Happiness, I knew, must come from within. If I 
 had not physical charms, I could at least be sweet and 
 gentle. It is not for me to tell you how I have suc- 
 ceeded, but I do know that I am not unhappy. My 
 great ambition is to keep this little home over our 
 heads. It is a struggle, I will admit; but, oh, what a 
 satisfaction to know one is conquering! If I wished, 
 I could worry over the fact that old age will be creep- 
 ing on and nothing laid by, but I run away from such 
 thoughts and leave it with God. . . . Oh, I could not 
 be unhappy when God gives me these beautiful seasons 
 to enjoy, and a few friends who make me feel that I 
 am of some use! Nature and books and nature in 
 books are my greatest pleasure/' 
 
 190 
 
NINE 
 IN TIME OF TRIAL 
 
 191 
 
"Though we pass through tribulation, 
 
 All will be well; 
 Ours is such a full salvation, 
 
 All, all is well ! 
 Happy still in God confiding, 
 Fruitful, if in Christ abiding, 
 Holy, through the Spirit's guiding, 
 
 All must be well. 
 
 "We expect a bright to-morrow, 
 
 All will be well ; 
 Faith can sing through days of sorrow. 
 
 All, all is well ! 
 On our Father's love relying, 
 Jesus every need supplying. 
 Or in living, or in dying. 
 
 All must be well." 
 
 192 
 
XXXIX 
 FAITH AND MEANS 
 
 OOMETIMES what is called faith is merely pre- 
 ^ sumptuous folly, the folly of which Jesus refused 
 to be guilty when he was tempted to cast himself from 
 the pinnacle of the temple, in dependence on the prom- 
 ise, " He shall give his angels charge concerning thee 
 ... on their hands they shall bear thee up, lest haply 
 thou dash thy foot against a stone." Jesus told the 
 tempter deliberately to throw himself in the way of 
 danger, at the same time expecting the fulfillment of 
 the promise, would be making trial of God. 
 
 J. Hudson Taylor ^ has told how he learned this les- 
 son during his first voyage to China on the Dumfries, 
 which sailed from the home port on September 19, 
 1853. From the beginning the voyage was trying. 
 He said: 
 
 " We had scarcely left the Mersey when a violent 
 equinoctial gale caught us, and for twelve days we were 
 beating backwards and forwards in the Irish Channel, 
 unable to get out to sea. The gale steadily increased, 
 and after almost a week we lay to for a time; but 
 drifting on a lee coast, we were compelled again to 
 make sail, and endeavored to beat off to windward. 
 The utmost efforts of the captain and crew, however, 
 were unavailing; and the night of Sunday, September 
 
 * In "A Retrospect." 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 25, found us drifting into Carnarvon Bay, each tack 
 becoming shorter, until at last we were within a stone's 
 throw of the rocks. About this time, as the ship, which 
 had refused to stay, was put round in the other direc- 
 tion, the Christian captain said to me, * We cannot live 
 half an hour now : what of your call to labor for the 
 Lord in China ? ' I had previously passed through a 
 time of much conflict, but that was over, and it was a 
 great joy to feel and to tell him that I would not for 
 any consideration be in any other position; that I 
 strongly expected to reach China; but that, if other- 
 wise, at any rate the Master would say it was well that 
 I was found seeking to obey his command. 
 
 " Within a few minutes after wearing ship the cap- 
 tain walked up to the compass, and said to me, * The 
 wind has freed two points ; we shall be able to beat out 
 of the bay.' And so we did. The bowsprit was sprung 
 and the vessel seriously strained ; but in a few days we 
 got out to sea, and the necessary repairs were so thor- 
 oughly effected on board that our journey to China was 
 in due time satisfactorily accomplished. 
 
 " One thing was a great trouble to me that night. I 
 was a very young believer, and had not sufficient faith 
 in God to see him in and through the use of means. I 
 had felt it a duty to comply with the earnest wish of 
 my beloved and honored mother, and for her sake to 
 procure a swimming-belt. But in my own soul I felt as 
 if I could not simply trust in God while I had this 
 swimming-belt ; and my heart had no rest until on that 
 night, after all hope of being saved was gone, I had 
 given it away. Then I had perfect peace; and, strange 
 to say, put several light things together, likely to float 
 
 194 
 
FAITH AND MEANS 
 
 at the time we struck, without any thought of incon- 
 sistency or scruple. Ever since, I have seen clearly the 
 mistake I made — a mistake that is very common in 
 these days, when erroneous teaching on faith-healing 
 does much harm, misleading some as to the purposes of 
 God, shaking the faith of others, and distressing the 
 minds of many. The use of means ought not to lessen 
 our faith in God; and our faith in God ought not to 
 hinder our using whatever means he has given us for 
 the accomplishment of his own purposes. 
 
 '' For years after this I always took a swimming-belt 
 with me, and never had any trouble about it; for after 
 the storm was over, the question was settled for me, 
 through the prayerful study of the Scriptures. God 
 gave me then to see my mistake, probably to deliver me 
 from a great deal of trouble on similar questions now 
 so constantly raised. When in medical or surgical 
 charge of any case, I have never thought of neglecting 
 to ask God's guidance and blessing in the use of appro- 
 priate means, nor yet of omitting to give him thanks 
 for answered prayer and restored health. But to me 
 it would appear as presumptuous and wrong to neglect 
 the use of those measures which he himself has put 
 within our reach as to neglect to take daily food, and 
 suppose that life and health might be maintained by 
 prayer alone." 
 
 195 
 
XL 
 
 PROVING THEIR FAITH 
 
 AN Eastern monarch made a most unreasonable de- 
 -^ ^ mand of a neighboring king, and boasted of the 
 terrible punishment he would visit upon the neighbor 
 if his wishes were not gratified. But the neighbor 
 returned a message of defiance : " Let not him that 
 girdeth on his armor boast himself as he that putteth 
 it off." Or, as the words have been paraphrased, 
 " The time to crow and flap your wings is after you 
 have fought." 
 
 Always there are people who need to learn that it is 
 one thing to utter loud boasts, and an entirely different 
 thing to carry them out. Peter was eager to give 
 protestations of loyalty to Christ, but when he was put 
 to the test he failed miserably. John Mark started out 
 confidently in his missionary labor with Paul, but when 
 difficulties beset him, he turned back, discouraged. 
 " Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he 
 fall," is the warning word. 
 
 No one has greater need to keep that warning in 
 mind than the Christian who tells what he thinks he 
 would do in time of disaster. Perhaps he believes his 
 faith would be strong enough to bear him up under any 
 conceivable difficulty, and so does not hesitate to say 
 so. Yet many Christians have found it easier to make 
 
 196 
 
PROVING THEIR FAITH 
 
 high-sounding phrases, when all is going well, than to 
 live in accordance with these when things go wrong. 
 
 It is helpful to read of a recent instance when faith, 
 put to a severe test, stood firm. 
 
 In March, 19 14, there was joy among the students 
 of Wellesley College because the team which repre- 
 sented the institution in an intercollegiate debate had 
 been victorious. On Monday morning, March 16, dur- 
 ing an address in Chapel, President Pendleton referred 
 to the event. After congratulating the students on the 
 result of the contest, she said: 
 
 " It is a fine thing to be enthusiastic over victory; 
 it is a better thing to learn enthusiasm from defeat." 
 
 Early next morning the alarm of fire sounded. The 
 main building of the college was burning! Quickly 
 scores of students made their way to safety. No one 
 was able to save anything but the clothes hastily thrown 
 on. For an hour or more they gazed as the great build- 
 ing was destroyed. 
 
 Now note how well teachers and students stood the 
 test of faith. Three hours after the alarm of fire they 
 gathered for the morning chapel service. One who was 
 there says there were " no tears, no nervous whisper- 
 ings, nothing to show what a terrible ordeal some of 
 the worshipers had survived. A serene gravity and 
 quiet marked the attitude of all present. The choir, 
 many of whom had, only three hours earlier, escaped 
 from the burning building, marched up the aisle sing- 
 ing, 
 
 " O God, our help in ages past." 
 
 After the responsive reading of Psalm 91, beginning, 
 ** He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High 
 
 197 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty," Miss 
 Pendleton read a brief passage from the end of the 
 eighth chapter of Romans, concluding in a voice of un- 
 forgettable exaltation, " For I am persuaded that 
 neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, 
 nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor 
 height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able 
 to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ 
 Jesus, our Lord." Then she announced that the spring 
 term would begin at the time already set, April 7, and 
 charged all students to register in the Library by one 
 o'clock that day. Nothing could have have been a bet- 
 ter challenge to college loyalty. Instead of yielding to 
 discouragement and despair, she made her hearers feel 
 that there was work to do, and that the first duty of 
 all was to rally undaunted to support academic life, al- 
 lowing no obstacle to stand in the way of completing 
 the college year. After singing 
 
 " Who trusts in God, a strong abode 
 In heaven and earth possesses," 
 
 the choir marched out, the college dispersed quietly, 
 and plans were begun for meeting the most momentous 
 crisis in the history of the college. 
 
 A professor of philosophy who lost everything in the 
 fire spoke a challenge that showed the reality of her 
 own faith. She said : " I have spent all my life teach- 
 ing people that the things that are seen are temporal, 
 and now we have the chance of our lives to prove that 
 the things that are unseen are eternal." 
 
 That was like the faith of Job, who, when he lost 
 everything he possessed, said : " The Lord gave and the 
 
 198 
 
PROVING THEIR FAITH 
 
 Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the 
 Lord." It was Hke the faith of Sir Walter Scott, who, 
 on January 21, 1826, after hearing of the failure of his 
 publishers, wrote: *' Things are so much worse than 
 I apprehended that I shall neither save Abbotsford nor 
 anything else. Naked we entered the world and naked 
 we leave it. Blessed be the name of the Lord." Com- 
 menting on this entry, his biographer wrote : *' The 
 sentiments of resignation and of cheerful acquiescence 
 in the dispensations of the Almighty which he ex- 
 pressed were those of a Christian thankful for the 
 blessings left, and willing, without ostentation, to do 
 his best. It was really beautiful to see the workings 
 of a strong and upright mind under the first lash of 
 adversity, calmly reposing upon the consolation offered 
 by his own integrity and manful purposes." 
 
 There is so much inspiration in reading of faith like 
 this that we pity the people who, like Charlotte Bronte's 
 Ginevra Fanshawe, have " an entire uncapacity to en- 
 dure"; who "seem to sour in adversity." Miss 
 Bronte suggests that a man who takes such a woman 
 for his wife '' ought to be prepared to guarantee an 
 existence all sunshine." 
 
 A guarantee like that is as impossible as it would 
 be unwise, except as the guarantee is given by him 
 who teaches his people, *' He that dwelleth in the secret 
 place of the most High shall abide under the shadow 
 of the Almighty," and so enables them to say, 
 " Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt re- 
 vive me." To them life is always sunshine because 
 they always see the light of God's countenance. 
 
 199 
 
XLI 
 
 WHEN GATES WERE CLOSED 
 
 TN 1894 Mr. and Mrs. H. F. Ridley and a Mr. Hall 
 ^ were doing evangelistic work for the China Inland 
 Mission in Sining, a city on the borders of Kokonor, 
 and far on the way to Tibet. They worked for twelve 
 months in peace. Then, during a Mohammedan rising, 
 siege was laid to the city. 
 
 Before the gates were closed, the missionaries 
 thought of fleeing to their friends in a distant city. 
 They knew that to stay and face a siege was a terrible 
 outlook, and that if the city should fall into the hands 
 of the rebels the consequences would be even more 
 dreadful. 
 
 But " after earnest prayer to God for guidance, God 
 showed them what he would have them do, and he 
 graciously took out of their hearts any fear in doing it.^ 
 
 " By this time the city gates were closed and letters 
 could neither be sent nor received. For long weary 
 months Hudson Taylor and others at the coast waited 
 eagerly for tidings and for some opportunity of send- 
 ing supplies. Of this time Mr. Taylor subsequently 
 said : * It was a time of great suspense and of much 
 prayer. We did rest in the Lord and knew that he 
 was doing the best thing, but we felt a very great re- 
 sponsibility to be instant in prayer for these dear mis- 
 
 ' Told in " Faith and Facts."' 
 
 200 
 
WHEN GATES WERE CLOSED 
 
 sionaries, for we knew not what their necessities or 
 their straits might be at any given time. We only knew 
 that they were alive by one thing, and that was that the 
 Holy Spirit led us to constant prayer for them, and we 
 were sure that the Spirit of God never taught anyone 
 to pray for the dead.' 
 
 *' While friends outside the city were thus interced- 
 ing on their behalf, the little band within the city were 
 daily casting their care upon God and finding that he 
 cared for them. Their money came to an end, and 
 their little stock of supplies came to an end, but, to 
 quote again Mr. Taylor, * God had not come to an 
 end, and here is the beauty of the principle upon which 
 we rest — the faithfulness of God.' There was plenty 
 of money for them at the coast, and some was sent, but 
 it never reached them. For live and a half months 
 they had not so much as any communication even with 
 the nearest mission station, and no letters or supplies 
 could reach them for nine months. But God was with 
 them, close at hand, and he provided for all their need, 
 and probably during those terrible months they were 
 enabled to do more for the glory of God, and more to 
 teach the people that there was a living God, than 
 many years of ordinary service would have accom- 
 plished. Let us see how their time was spent and how 
 God provided. 
 
 " Some ten days after the rebellion had broken out 
 in the city neighborhood a poor old beggar came to the 
 door. He had a sore leg and he asked for medicine, 
 that he might get it healed. When tending the old 
 man he said, * Don't you think you might go down 
 and do a little good to some of the poor wounded peo- 
 
 20I 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 pie lying in the temple of the god of literature ? ' As 
 the workers had been seeking for guidance as to the 
 best work to do, they thought this might be a call. 
 Ordinary preaching to the people was out of the ques- 
 tion, and the street chapel had had to be shut, but it 
 might be possible to help the sick and wounded. So 
 down they went to the temple, and such a sight met 
 their eyes as they had never expected to see. 
 
 " Here were one hundred and twenty poor people in 
 the most abject state of need; men, women, and chil- 
 dren who had been lashed, cut, and lacerated by the 
 rebels, and who had in that most pitiable condition 
 dragged themselves some eighteen or twenty miles to 
 this poor place of shelter. The majority of them had 
 been from eight to ten days on the road. To stop the 
 flowing of their blood the poor people had plastered 
 themselves with mud, with such results as can be more 
 easily imagined than described As it was already dusk 
 and no artificial light was possible, there was nothing 
 for it but to return to the mission house and make such 
 preparations as were possible, and then wait until the 
 morning. 
 
 " The morning came, and away Messrs. Hall and 
 Ridley went. But the real condition of the sufferers 
 was worse than had been imagined, the dusk of the 
 night before having made a thorough examination 
 impossible. With wounds undressed for days and 
 even weeks, and huddled together with not even the 
 most elementary provision for sanitary arrangements, 
 the condition of the poor people was repulsive in the 
 extreme. Even the Chinese, who are strangely un- 
 affected by sights and smells which almost overcome 
 
 202 
 
WHEN GATES WERE CLOSED 
 
 the European, stood at a distance, and would not come 
 near, and the Chinese doctors with their wide sleeves 
 placed over mouth and nose would not give help in 
 any way. 
 
 " While the abject needs of the people appealed to 
 all that was sympathetic in the missionaries, yet the 
 conditions were such as to make them almost physically 
 unable to help through sheer sickness and revulsion. 
 They felt that they needed special strength from God 
 for such work and for this they looked not in vain. 
 Strength was given in answer to prayer, and for a 
 long time loving care was bestowed upon them with the 
 gratifying result that nearly every one recovered. 
 Though not able to preach to them in words they 
 preached in deeds. 
 
 '* Later on another company of some two hundred 
 wounded entered the city, and these were cared for 
 in the same way, and during the nine months as many 
 as two thousand sick and wounded passed through 
 their hands. The medical and surgical appliances were 
 ill adapted to such work, but with poor instruments 
 good results were obtained. During that time some 
 forty bullets alone were extracted, some by Mr. Rid- 
 ley, with no better instruments than a razor and a 
 pocketknife, and although unskilled at such work, 
 through the goodness of God no life was lost through 
 the cutting of an artery. 
 
 '' It is not easy to depict the horrors of these days. 
 The streets of the city became veritable dung-heaps, 
 with thousands of poor people huddled together like 
 pigs in a sty. More than a thousand patients suffer- 
 ing from diphtheria came for treatment to the ' Gospel 
 
 203 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IX GOD 
 
 Hall ' — the name of which the people changed to * Sal- 
 vation Hall,' so many lives having been saved. Such 
 a heavy demand upon the limited medicine chest was a 
 serious matter. After some eight pounds of sulphur 
 had been exhausted in treating the throats of the diph- 
 theria patients, alum was used, then borax. For 
 wounds, beeswax, resin, lard, borax, and zinc were 
 resorted to; three hundred and titty feet of calico were 
 used by October and many pounds of cotton. Oil had 
 risen from forty-three cash per pound to over two 
 hundred, and coal had run short, with a temperature 
 down to zero and many of the poor destitute of their 
 clothinof, which had been either stolen or burned bv the 
 rebels. The missionaries had to cook their bread with 
 dried manure. 
 
 '' And now about the middle of September the food- 
 supply began to run short. Busy from sunrise to dusk 
 caring for the sick, they had hardly noticed the empty- 
 ing larder. And now all the grain shops in the city 
 were closed, for the city was getting into the straits 
 of a prolonged siege, and grain could not be bought on 
 the streets. And so they took this matter to the Lord, 
 knowing that he who had led them to stay in the city 
 would also provide for them, and the text, * Seek ye 
 first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and 
 all these things shall be added unto you,' came forcibly 
 home to their minds. 
 
 " Having very definitely committed the matter to 
 the Lord, they went on with their work among the 
 wounded, believing in the word, ' Trust in the Lord 
 and do good, and so shalt thou dwell in the land, and 
 verily thou shalt be fed.' A few days afterward, when 
 
 204 
 
WHEN GATES WERE CLOSED 
 
 only two or three pounds of flour were left at the bot- 
 tom of the barrel, an official came down from his post 
 on the wall to thank them for what they were doing for 
 the wounded. As the very servants had gone to join 
 the volunteers in the defense of the city, the Ridleys 
 harl no servant, and as it is customary to give tea to 
 any guest who calls, Mr. Ridley prepared and served 
 the tea himself. This fact was not lost upon the offi- 
 cial, who, however, said nothing but reported it to the 
 Prefect. Next morning they were invited to visit the 
 official on the city wall. They responded and went, 
 and during the visit the official remarked, ' Yesterday, 
 when I was at your house, I noticed that you had no 
 servant. The Prefect has told me to lend you four 
 soldiers to help you.' 
 
 '* This was an unexpected kindness, but such help 
 would rather be an anxiety than otherwise with only 
 two or three pounds of flour in the house, and so, while 
 tlianking the official most cordially, they declined the 
 offer. However, he sent for two, who came and 
 saluted the missionaries. ' Now,' he said, ' take these 
 two with you.' Feeling that it was best to be frank 
 with the man rather than perplex him by again de- 
 clining his offer without an explanation, they said, 
 ' \i you really want to know why we do not accept 
 your offer, it is because we cannot feed the men.' He 
 replied, ' Of course you cannot have them if you have 
 no food for them,' and there the matter was allowed 
 to drop and the visitors returned home. 
 
 " The next morning when they were as usual attend- 
 ing to the wounded, two soldiers appeared at the door, 
 each man carrying on his back a big sack of grain of 
 
 20^ 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 aoout ;)ne hundred pounds' weight. * We were not sur- 
 prised/ related Mr. Ridley subsequently, * for we 
 knew that God would supply our needs.' Later on 
 another two soldiers appeared with similar loads, while 
 two or three days later the Prefect's secretary called 
 and said, * The Prefect will be very glad to send you 
 a tan (equal to six hundred pounds) of grain,' and in 
 fulfillment of this promise six soldiers shortly appeared, 
 each laden with a sack of grain, and thus was sufficient 
 grain supplied, not only to last until the rebellion was 
 quelled, but for six months more. And not only was 
 grain supplied, but a supply of coal was also sent, with 
 an offer to supply anything else they might want, if 
 only they would make their wants known and the city 
 could furnish the needed articles. 
 
 " The Prefect of the city, who had personally visited 
 the temple of the god of literature several times, that he 
 might see the good work the missionaries were doing, 
 was probably the prime mover in this kindness, but his 
 heart was doubtless stirred by him who holds the 
 hearts of all men in his hands. The workers had 
 trusted in the Lord, and had sought to do good, and 
 they experienced the fulfillment of the promise to the 
 very letter, ' So shalt thou dwell in the land, and 
 verily thou shalt be fed.' " 
 
 206 
 
XLII 
 ALONE, YET NOT ALONE 
 
 "\/ OU must not think of taking such a dangerous 
 
 "'■ journey ! " American friends said to Mrs. Petrus 
 Rijnhart when, in 1894, she told them of her plans 
 to follow her husband into the hidden recesses of the 
 mountains of Tibet, the closed land of Asia. " You 
 say yourself that only half a dozen travelers have ever 
 dared to make the trip. Why should you go where 
 hardy men have feared to venture?" 
 
 But women often venture where men fear to go, if 
 they have sufficient reason. To Mrs. Rijnhart the 
 reason for the Tibet expedition seemed so command- 
 ing that she did not hesitate. Was not her husband 
 going? And did he not need her counsel and help? 
 He was one of the few men who had been to Tibet. 
 During his short experience there he had learned how 
 eager some of the Tibetans were to hear what he had 
 to say about the religion that was making the Western 
 world great. When he returned home there rang in- 
 sistently in his ears the question put to him by a 
 Tibetan, "If what you say is true, why have you 
 waited so many moons to tell us? " 
 
 And when he told Mrs. Rijnhart that duty called 
 him to the lonely plateaus to the east of China, her 
 only answer was, " I will go with you." 
 
 He told her of the difficulties of the way, but she 
 207 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 was unmoved. He reminded her that stern spies were 
 ever watching for disguised foreigners who tried to 
 penetrate toward the mysterious city of Lhasa, and 
 that many of these had been conducted to the Chinese 
 border, with the warning not to return, but her purpose 
 was unchanged. 
 
 So, full of hope, husband and wife set out on their 
 venture. Across the Pacific they went, then up the 
 great Yangtse by steamer and houseboat, then hun- 
 dred of miles by jolting mule carts over typical 
 Chinese roads, in which the travel of centuries had 
 worn grooves sometimes two feet deep. 
 
 On the border of Tibet they paused for several 
 years at a little village of mud-brick houses. There 
 they became acquainted with the people who were con- 
 stantly coming from Tibet, and gained some knowl- 
 edge of the country to which they were bound. 
 
 The difficulties of the journey were set before Mrs. 
 Rijnhart more plainly than ever, but she was eager to 
 push on to the only city in the world absolutely closed 
 to Westerners. Tales of rough mountain passes, rag- 
 ing rivers, arid wastes, death-dealing winds and fierce 
 bands of robbers were powerless to keep her from what 
 she had made up her mind was her duty. 
 
 At last the journey was continued. Early one morn- 
 ing in May, 1898, Mr. and Mrs. Rijnhart, with their 
 one-year-old son, born in China, set out at the head 
 of a picturesque caravan of seventeen ponies. Three 
 servants were taken with them, as well as supplies 
 of native food sufficient for two years. 
 
 For a month all went well. The natives were 
 friendly, and the only robbers seen were easily fright- 
 
 208 
 
ALONE, YET NOT ALONE 
 
 ened away. The birthday of the little son was cele- 
 brated with great festivity. While the child played 
 near the tent, the happy father and mother, after the 
 manner of parents, talked over dreams of the future, 
 when the boy would be a useful man. 
 
 But those dreams were never to be fulfilled. Only a 
 few days later the baby suddenly passed away. With 
 the help of his servant (two of the men had fled, for 
 fear of robbers) Mr. Rijnhart dug a little grave, and 
 the soil of Tibet was consecrated as it received the 
 form of its first Christian child. 
 
 At once the parents were compelled to leave the 
 resting place of their babe. As long as she could see 
 the little mound of stones built above the grave, the 
 sorrowing mother looked back. Then, resolutely quiet- 
 ing her heart, she turned her face toward Lhasa, now 
 only one hundred and fifty miles away, prepared for 
 whatever awaited her on the journey. She was soon 
 to find that her real sufferings and hardships were 
 hardly begun. 
 
 The pilgrims were congratulating themselves that 
 no one had appeared to dispute their passage, when a 
 company of spies from Lhasa ordered them to retrace 
 their steps, and put them in charge of guides, who 
 were instructed to stay with them till they were safely 
 over the border in China. Their one servant now 
 left them to the tender mercies of the strangers. 
 
 Very soon the travelers realized that they were in 
 the hands of irresponsible men. Rumors of robber 
 bands disquieted them, but for two we^ks no robbers 
 were seen. Then, when the party was in camp on the 
 bank of a swift stream, there was an attack from 
 
 209 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 ambush, and several horses were killed. The rascally 
 guides seized all but one of the remaining horses and 
 hurried off. 
 
 The plight of the travelers was pitiable. They were 
 alone in a strange country, surrounded by enemies, 
 snow was on the ground, and the road was almost im- 
 passable. They struggled on along the river, and next 
 day saw some tents on the opposite bank. Mr. Rijn- 
 hart, determining to go over in search of help, started 
 into the water, turned as though seeing a better place 
 to cross, passed around a point of rocks, and was gone. 
 
 Two hours passed, and he did not return. At length 
 the sun set; still there was no sign of any living crea- 
 ture except four bears gamboling in the snow on the 
 hillside. The long hours of darkness seemed endless, 
 but at last the morning came; then the lonely woman 
 realized that she would probably never see her husband 
 again. Reluctantly she concluded that he had fallen 
 a prey to the robbers, to whose tender mercies they had 
 been deserted by the rascally guides. 
 
 But her faith did not fail. "Well it was," she 
 wrote, in telling the story ,'^ "that we had learned to 
 trust God in hard and difficult places. What else sup- 
 ported me through the leaden hours of that day but 
 the thought that I was in God's hands? 
 
 " * Nothing before, nothing behind, 
 The steps of faith 
 Fall on the seeming void, and find 
 The rock beneath.' 
 
 " But I must admit it was a faith amidst a darkness 
 so thick and black that I could not enjoy the sun- 
 
 * In " With the Tibetans in Tent and Temple." 
 2IO 
 
ALONE, YET NOT ALONE 
 
 shine. . . . Deep down in my heart a voice whispered, 
 * Be still, sad heart, and hear thy God, who knoweth 
 the end from the beginning.' " 
 
 For three days she waited, hoping against hope that 
 she might see the familiar figure crossing the stream, 
 but instead there came a company of Tibetans, who, 
 observing her helpless condition, had laid their plans to 
 rob her. 
 
 Roughly they seized the baggage left by the guides, 
 thoroughly ransacked it, and took everything that 
 caught their fancy. Fortunately Mrs. Rijnhart had 
 secreted a few ounces of silver and her revolver when 
 she realized that she must depend on her own efforts to 
 escape from the robbers. 
 
 But how^ was she to escape? Even if she succeeded 
 in eluding the men, how could she traverse the six hun- 
 dred miles which stretched between her and the nearest 
 white man ? 
 
 Of one thing she was sure — she must not let the 
 men see that she was afraid of them. So, outwardly 
 calm, though inwardly quaking with fear, she de- 
 manded that her captors give her safe conduct to the 
 nearest chief. They refused, and told her she must 
 stay where she was, out in the cold and the snow. 
 She demanded shelter. They refused to admit her to 
 their tents, but grudgingly showed the way to a cave. 
 
 Having gained her point in this first encounter, she 
 nerved herself to a second, insisting that the Tibetans 
 surrender her horse and lead her to her friends. It 
 was something new to these half-civilized men, accus- 
 tomed to women who tamely submitted to be treated 
 as inferiors, to find one who dared to question their 
 
 211 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 will and tell them what they must do. In their sur- 
 prise they did exactly as she asked. 
 
 Her heart was heavier than ever as she looked into 
 the scowling faces of the two men assigned as guides. 
 At once she saw she could not trust them; she must 
 depend upon her woman's wit to carry her through the 
 dangers which would surround her when she was alone 
 with them. But she knew she must give no hint of her 
 fears. So, resolutely putting from her the thought 
 that she was turning her back forever not only on the 
 lonely grave of the babe but on the spot where she had 
 last seen her husband, she gave the sign to her guides, 
 and the journey was begun. 
 
 After a few days her guides were succeeded by 
 others, who at once began to make themselves dis- 
 agreeable. Once she overheard them plotting to kill 
 her; thereafter she kept her revolver always in hand. 
 When the sight of the weapon seemed to have lost its 
 effect, she told them that they dare not injure her, for 
 the Chinese Government would inquire for her if she 
 should not return to her friends. They took their re- 
 venge by forcing her to pass the nights out of doors; 
 even when tents or huts were near the camping place 
 they would not permit her to apply for shelter, for 
 fear her voice would betray the fact that she was not 
 one of the nobler sex to which they belonged. Some- 
 times they tried to approach her during the night, but 
 she seemed to them never to sleep. 
 
 One night they made a last attempt to take her life. 
 They could do nothing while she was on guard ; some- 
 how they were powerless before her unflinching gaze. 
 Pitching their ^amp in a swamp, they assured her that 
 
 212 
 
ALONE, YET NOT ALONE 
 
 here there was no danger of attack from robbers, and 
 she might sleep without fear. During the night they 
 called to her six times to know if she was asleep; each 
 time she answered them promptly. 
 
 Next day, when the journey was resumed, their 
 treatment of her w^as so brutal that she was in despair. 
 Her strength was failing, for her food w^as only rancid 
 butter, parched barley meal, and tea. But just when 
 she was feeling that she could not possibly reach the 
 border, she found a friend in a traveler, a Chinese 
 merchant. Piercing her disguise, he asked her won- 
 deringly, '* How is it that you are here all alone like 
 this? " When she told him the outlines of her story, 
 he was deeply touched and said, " You have eaten much 
 bitterness. Quiet your heart, for now that you are 
 with us Chinese, you are all right." 
 
 The friendly Chinaman secured for her a passport 
 from a local dignitary, and sent her to his own home, 
 where she rested a few days before going on. 
 
 Armed with the passport, she was able to secure 
 fairly competent guides, who led her safely. Once, 
 however, when she was in charge of two boys, robbers 
 attacked the party. One of the men, holding his naked 
 sword over her head, ordered her to dismount and 
 give him her horse and her small supplies of food and 
 clothing. Summoning all her courage she refused to 
 obey, and the astonished robbers left her, robbed her 
 companions, and hurried away with their booty. 
 
 The final stages of the journey were made on foot 
 over rough mountain paths. Though her feet were 
 bruised and bleeding, she sometimes made as much as 
 twenty or thirty miles a day. But the strain was 
 
 213 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 proving too great ; she realized that she could not hold 
 out much longer. And friends were still so far away. 
 
 But they were nearer than she thought. When, one 
 evening, at the end of a twenty-mile walk, she stag- 
 gered into the village of Ta-chien-lu, she fell into the 
 arms of an Englishwoman, a member of a mission 
 station recently opened at that frontier post. 
 
 The six months' journey was over. She had gone 
 out with husband and child by her side; she returned 
 alone. But she did not regret her experience. She felt 
 that she had done her duty, and that the entrance of 
 other missionaries to the Forbidden Land would be 
 easier because of what she had suffered. 
 
 Her feeling of grateful faith found expression as 
 she wrote: 
 
 Bless the Lord, O my soul, 
 
 And all that is within me, bless his holy name, 
 
 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction, 
 
 Who crowneth thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies, 
 
 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things. 
 
 So that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's. 
 
 214 
 
TEN 
 EVERYDAY HEROES OF FAITH 
 
 2IS 
 
Through the dark and stormy night 
 Faith beholds a feeble light, 
 
 Up the blackness streaking; 
 Knowing God's own time is best, 
 In a patient hope I rest 
 
 For the full day breaking. 
 
 —John G. Whittier. 
 
 2t6 
 
XLIII 
 
 THE SECRET OF YOUTH 
 
 IT 7'HEN Mrs. Margaret E. Sangster was growing 
 ^ ^ old, she was asked how she managed to keep so 
 young. In reply she insisted that the secret of keep- 
 ing young is '' not in externals; it lies far deeper. The 
 fountain of youth is in the soul." 
 
 From childhood she was unconsciously preparing 
 to remain young. Early she learned to lift her soul in 
 faith to God, and the lesson of faith learned in those 
 early years never left her. 
 
 One of the first influences that taught her the pos- 
 sibility and the beauty of faith in God was the hearing 
 of a story told by her father. During the first lone- 
 someness of his life in Canada where he had gone an 
 immigrant from England, he wandered off into the 
 woods. There he lost his way. When night came, he 
 knelt at the foot of a tree and asked God to care for 
 him and lead him safe back to the house he had left. 
 As he rose, he heard a cowbell; soon he found the 
 cow, and was guided out of the woods. For him 
 first, and for his children after him, this was an ex- 
 ample and a pledge of God's watch-care of his children. 
 
 A formative influence not to be forgotten was the 
 custom of having family prayers, not only once but 
 twice each day. While it was not the custom of the 
 father to read the Bible through in course on these 
 
 217 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 occasions, he did read most of the books through in 
 their turn, though some were chosen more often than 
 others. The verses and chapters made familiar by 
 months and years of such reading, supplemented by the 
 private reading to which the daughter was easily 
 trained, gave her a groundwork for the building of 
 character. The father's prayers are also remembered 
 with gratitude, so helpful and uplifting were they. 
 
 Among the friends who influenced the girlhood of 
 this remarkable woman, she tenderly recalls not only 
 the rich and the great and the social leaders, but also 
 a humble servant, whose portrait is well worth look- 
 ing at. 
 
 '' His Christian name was Anthony, and it might 
 well have had the prefix Saint, for few men whom I 
 have ever known so well deserved the title. Anthony 
 was a hired man, who went on various errands and 
 did all sorts of things; who loved horses and dogs, 
 and understood every detail of farm work. When a 
 small boy, he had lost the sight of an eye by accident, 
 and when he lived with us he was gradually losing the 
 sight of the other. In later years he became totally 
 blind, and almost totally deaf. Notwithstanding these 
 limitations, he continued to work with his hands on one 
 or another farm in New Jersey, so long as his strength 
 endured. He learned how to make baskets and fish- 
 nets, and after he could no longer toil at difficult labor 
 he made and sold them among his friends. During 
 all the years that I knew Anthony Bean I never once 
 heard him complain of blindness, deafness, or poverty. 
 * I have a rich Father in heaven,' he would say, ' and 
 my wants will always be supplied.' They always were, 
 
 218 
 
THE SECRET OF YOUTH 
 
 to the end, and Anthony lived to be an old, old man. 
 He had food, shelter, and clothing, and just enough 
 money in his pocket to enable him to go from place to 
 place in the little round of his visits to friends." 
 
 The transition from such a childhood to a faithful 
 womanhood was easy. Through all the years of Chris- 
 tian service she was remarkable for the simplicity of 
 her faith in God. This made her attractive to all who 
 knew her. Older people delighted in talking to her or 
 in reading her helpful books. Young people flocked 
 about her, wrote letters to her, sought her counsel, con- 
 fided in her, trusted her. And she never failed them. 
 
 She could satisfy all who came to her, for she 
 satisfied herself by constant touch with him whom she 
 saw by faith. 
 
 219 
 
XLIV 
 
 THE FAITH OF FOUR CONVERTS 
 
 TN " The Leaves of the Tree," one of the annual 
 -*' reports of the British and Foreign Bible Society, 
 a number of inspiring stories of faith were given. 
 
 One of these is from the pen of a war correspondent 
 of the London Daily Mail. He said : 
 
 " A few weeks ago I stood outside the compound of 
 Mr. Turley, the agent of the British and Foreign Bible 
 Society in Manchuria, and looked at a pleasant-faced, 
 elderly Chinese Bible woman talking with and selling 
 books to a crowd of natives around her. Six years 
 ago, when the Boxer movement arose in Northern 
 China, the Boxers at Mukden determined to make an 
 end of Christianity there. They stormed the Roman 
 Catholic Cathedral and butchered the priests and nuns 
 and their converts in horrible fashion. They broke up 
 the Protestant Missions, with accompaniments of tor- 
 ture and shame which I dare not dwell on. They 
 specially resolved to lay hold of this Bible woman, for 
 she had been so active and successful that all knew of 
 her. At last they caught her, with two nieces, in a 
 suburb of the city. 
 
 " The three women were thrown on a springless 
 Chinese cart, and, surrounded by a howling mob, were 
 led towards the center of Mukden, where they were 
 to be tortured, outraged, and killed. The two nieces 
 
 220 
 
THE FAITH OF FOUR CONVERTS 
 
 were crying bitterly, and the old woman turned to 
 them and spoke very earnestly. Why should they cry ? 
 Let them pray! God would help them! She herself 
 started praying, and soon her nieces joined her, and 
 their tears ceased. 
 
 '* It was a long and weary ride. The roadway was 
 blocked with carts, and the death tumbrel could only 
 move along at snail's pace. The fears of the younger 
 women were now over. There was not a tremble or a 
 tear from them. Soon an uneasy sense of awe came 
 over the Boxers. Why were not these women afraid? 
 One man suggested that some spirit was guarding 
 them, and another spoke fearfully of the dangers that 
 would fall on those who should offend the spirits, 
 while others continued to shout loudly for vengeance. 
 Still the cart moved on, nearer to the execution 
 ground. 
 
 '^ As it passed under the shadow of the city walls a 
 Chinese gentleman, well known in the locality, rode by 
 in state. He cast his eye over the women. ' What 
 fools you Boxers are,' he said, ^ to kill these women, 
 when they might be sold for good silver. I will buy 
 them off you.' The Boxers, already uneasy, saw a way 
 out of their difficulty, and seized the opportunity. The 
 women, bound as they were, were tossed into the back 
 of the gentleman's cart and driven out towards the 
 country. 
 
 '' When the cart got away from the crowds into a 
 quiet part the owner stopped it. The women's bonds 
 were cut, and they were taken out. The Chinaman 
 looked at them with a smile. ' Some day,' he said, 
 * when you are well-off again, you can pay me back 
 
 221 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 what I have given for you to-day. Now you can go 
 where you please.' Is it any wonder that that old 
 Bible woman believes in Christianity and in prayer? 
 When treaty-port critics talk to me of ' rice Chris- 
 tians/ I remember the Bible woman of Mukden." 
 
 The Bible Society's agent in Amoy told of a man 
 who had been a Bible colporteur for more than thirty 
 years : 
 
 " Bia is now eighty years old and blind, but, as he 
 sits in chapel, he is testifying to the power and comfort 
 of the Gospel. He preaches to the people who come in 
 to visit, and when no one is near he sings and prays. 
 Bia was forty-two when he first heard the Gospel. As 
 he listened, it dawned on him that the Saviour could 
 heal, and so he became a believer in the then-despised 
 religion. Alas! his native village began to persecute 
 him. They would not let him have water for his rice- 
 fields, they refused to join with him in crushing his 
 sugar-cane, they struck him, they did everything to 
 make him give up his Christianity. At the age of fifty, 
 Bia was engaged as a colporteur by the Bible Society. 
 His work lay mainly among villages. First he went to 
 Giamkhoe to preach: there the official beat him, but 
 afterwards made reparation. Next, Bia went to a 
 village four miles further on, where five men became 
 interested and gave up their opium; some of these 
 men still remain at the church there. Then he went 
 twenty miles further on, to Pngiu, and opened that 
 village also to the Gospel. Now, all three villages 
 possess places of worship. Giamhkoe has its pastor 
 and is a self-supporting church, with a branch which 
 has twenty members. Pngiu is likewise a self-support- 
 
 222 
 
THE FAITH OF FOUR CONVERTS 
 
 ing church, with nearly seventy members, and has 
 opened up four other churches which have unitedly 
 over sixty members. Koehkhi also has a thriving 
 church with about forty baptized members. All these 
 are the fruit of Bia's first efforts to extend his Master's 
 kingdom. To-day this veteran of the Bible Society is 
 weak in body, partly deaf, stone blind, and has no one 
 to support him ; but his heart is full of the light which 
 the Scriptures reveal, and he looks forward to eternal 
 light and still points out the way. 
 
 A Japanese colporteur reported the case of a man 
 whose steadfast faith was the outgrowth of Bible 
 reading : 
 
 " I am glad to inform you that the seed you have 
 sown has brought forth rich harvests. When returning 
 from Uwajima, a man who lives about twelve miles 
 from here bought a New Testament on board the 
 steamer. After he came home, he read the book 
 through five or six times and found out the true God, 
 Jesus Christ. One day, he said to his wife, ' We are 
 not to worship too many gods. We must believe in 
 only one God. I shall gather together my paper gods 
 and put them on the fire.' After that he commenced to 
 pray the Lord's Prayer and to read in the Testament 
 daily. Later, the village ofHcer came to his house and 
 said, ' I think your actions for some time have been 
 different from usual. What are you doing? ' He an- 
 swered the officer, ' I have this book which I bought on 
 the steamer on my way from Uwajima, and I have 
 read it many times. It is the best book in the world. I 
 have found out the true God.' ' Will you let me see 
 that book ? ' said the officer. ' Oh ! this is Yasii-no- 
 
 223 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 hon' (i.e., the Jesus Book). * You must not believe; 
 you stop — stop ! ' The man answered, * You study 
 this book. Do you know Jesus Christ ? ' ' No, I do 
 not' * Oh ! you do not. Before, I thought the same as 
 you. You must study this Testament. I shall never 
 give up my faith unless a more excellent God than 
 Jesus Christ comes to me. Then I will give it up.' 
 This man never heard a Christian sermon nor had a 
 Christian teacher. He studied the book alone — only a 
 five sen New Testament." 
 
 From a town in South Central China a missionary 
 wrote to the Society, telling of the faith of a man who 
 had never had any instruction but that of the Holy 
 Spirit, as he read the Bible: 
 
 " Five years ago, a man called here and bought a 
 New Testament. Then he went back to his home, 
 which was ninety li distant, cast out his idols, and put 
 up a tablet to the true God ' Shang Ti ' and to ' Our 
 ancestors, Adam and Eve.' From that time he has 
 considered himself a worshiper of God, reading his 
 New Testament to his wife and family and from time 
 to time making pious prostrations. This went on till 
 two or three months ago, when his wife died and he 
 was quite at a loss how to bury her ; Chinese priests he 
 would not have, but he had to confess to the neighbors 
 that he had not learned the correct procedure for the 
 Christian burial of the dead. At last he wrote out this 
 formula and placed it on the deceased : ' True God, 
 accept this in clear evidence of one who trusted in the 
 merit of Jesus ' ; then, followed by his three sons, he 
 walked round the coffin several times, repeating the 
 same words. Afterwards he made a journey here, to 
 
 224 
 
THE FAITH OF FOUR CONVERTS 
 
 tell us what he had done and to inquire if he were cor- 
 rect. We advised him, in case of a similar emergency, 
 to read a chapter of Scripture and offer prayer; he left 
 us apparently relieved and grateful, but not before we 
 felt we had met another of God's hidden children." 
 
 225 
 
XLV 
 
 A PICTURE GALLERY OF HEROES 
 
 ^TT^HERE is inspiration for the traveler who goes 
 -■' to Westminster Abbey, where the bodies of 
 heroes of war and of peace He side by side. And there 
 is inspiration for the reader who will take the trouble 
 to look into the eleventh chapter of Hebrews, the West- 
 minster Abbey of the Bible. There the names are 
 given and the achievements are recited of men and 
 women who were great, not necessarily because they 
 were prominent in the eyes of the world — some of 
 them were very humble people — but because they were 
 men and women of strong faith. 
 
 But what is faith ? Faith is a telescope by means of 
 which men can put heavenly things beside earthly 
 things, that they may diligently compare them. Many 
 people persistently choose the baubles of life instead of 
 God's best gifts simply because they have not made the 
 comparison. 
 
 Moses, conspicuously named in the Bible picture gal- 
 lery of faith, was not one of these. The adopted son 
 of the daughter of the Egyptian king, he weighed the 
 treasures of Egypt in the scales with the reproach of 
 Christ, and when he saw the result he did not hesitate 
 to take the course that has made his name famous for 
 all time : he turned his back on Egypt, giving himself 
 up to the service of God's afflicted people. 
 
 226 
 
A PICTURE GALLERY OF HEROES 
 
 But it is well to think of a heroine of faith without 
 whom Moses would not have been the man he was — 
 his mother. "If you want to know the cradle in which 
 his greatness was rocked," one has written, '' go back 
 to the banks of the river Nile, and see whose are the 
 hands that fashioned the cradle of bulrushes, and 
 whose are the hands that rocked it; and who taught 
 the tiny babe to speak, and to love, and to know, and 
 to grow, and to dream, and to become. You have come 
 upon the name of a Hebrew bondwoman tending her 
 child. Back of Moses stands his mother. By her 
 divine ministry the divine miracle was wrought." 
 
 A picture gallery of faith might be made to-day. 
 For instance, the story of missions is a record of faith. 
 Livingstone went to Africa because God called him. 
 He went, not knowing whither he went, but leaving 
 that with God. 
 
 Adoniram Judson labored for years without a con- 
 vert, but he did not lost faith in him who could touch 
 the hearts of men. Dr. Cortland Van Rensselaer 
 Hodge and the others who have laid down their lives 
 in China were enabled to be strong to the end by reason 
 of the vision of faith. 
 
 Robert Morrison was sustained by his faith in God. 
 The captain of the Trident, the ship on which he 
 sailed from New York to China, knowing something 
 of the impenetrable conservatism of the Chinese, said : 
 " And so, Mr. Morrison, you really expect that you 
 will make an impression upon the idolatry of the great 
 Chinese empire? " " No, sir," returned Mr. Morrison 
 severely, '* I expect God will." 
 
 Horace Bushnell, in an address before New England 
 227 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 pioneers, added still others to the picture gallery of 
 faith. " In common graves," he says, " lie the sturdy 
 kings of homespun, who climbed among these hills 
 with their axes to cut away room for their cabins, and 
 for family prayers and sow for the good future to 
 come. Here lie their sons, who foddered their cattle 
 on the snows and built stone fences while their corn 
 was sprouting in the hills, getting ready, in that way, 
 to send a boy or two to college. Here lie the good 
 housewives who made coats every year, like Hannah, 
 for their children's bodies and lined their memory with 
 catechism. 
 
 " Here the millers who took honest toll of the rye, 
 the smiths and coopers who superintended two hands 
 and got a little revenue of honest bread and schooling 
 from their little joint-stock of two-handed investment. 
 Here the district committees and schoolmistresses, the 
 religious society founders and church deacons. Who 
 they are, by name, we cannot tell — no matter who they 
 are — we should be none the wiser if we could name 
 them; they themselves none the more honorable. 
 Enough that they are, the King Lemuels and their 
 queens of the good old times gone by — kings and 
 queens of homespun, out of whom we drew our noble 
 lineage." 
 
 Without these heroes of an age gone by America 
 would not be what it is to-day, and without their faith 
 in God these pioneers would never have come from 
 England to America. They longed for freedom to live 
 according to their faith, and so they crossed the sea 
 and *' endured as seeing him who is invisible," except 
 to the eye of faith. 
 
 228 
 
A PICTURE GALLERY OF HEROES 
 
 Those whose faith in God is weak may learn a les- 
 son from a poor colored woman who earned a moderate 
 living by washing. One day one of those anxious 
 Christians said to her : " Ah, Nancy, it's well enough 
 to be happy now, but I should think your thoughts of 
 the future would make you sober. Suppose, for in- 
 stance, you should be taken sick, or suppose your em- 
 ployers should move away, or suppose " " Stop!" 
 
 cried Nancy. " I neber supposes. De Lord is my 
 Shepherd, and I knows I shall not want. And, honey, 
 it is all dem s'poses as is makin' you so mis'able. You 
 orter give dem all up and jes' trust in de Lord." 
 
 229 
 
XLVI 
 
 MISSIONARIES AND MONEY-MAKERS 
 
 TAURING the summer and fall of 1905 Dillon Wal- 
 -■^ lace led a small party into hitherto unexplored 
 regions of Labrador. The published account of this 
 really remarkable journey is full of descriptions of 
 the barren country, of the perils encountered by the 
 travelers, of the dreariness of the ice fields and the 
 loneliness of life among the degraded Eskimos. 
 
 The explorer and his party came to several trading 
 posts, each in charge of an English or an American 
 business man, who had his family with him. These 
 people, who were there for the purpose of making 
 money, were full of complaints about the country, the 
 hardships they were compelled to endure, and the long- 
 ings they had for life in other surroundings. At one 
 post the travelers were eagerly welcomed. But when 
 they came to go there was sorrow. The women cried ; 
 and one of them said : '' It will be a long time before 
 anyone comes to see us again — a long time. I suppose 
 no one will ever come again." At a second post the 
 trader was about to be transferred to another part 
 of the country. " God knows how lonely it is here 
 sometimes," the trader's wife said to Mr. Wallace. 
 " How glad I'll be to go where there's some one beside 
 just greasy heathen Eskimos to see ! " 
 
 In striking contrast was the quiet, uncomplaining, 
 230 
 
MISSIONARIES AND MONEY-MAKERS 
 
 contented attitude of the missionaries found by the 
 travelers. Mr. Wallace was by no means prejudiced 
 in their favor ; but they compelled his admiration, and 
 he became a warm admirer of these devoted men and 
 women. Here are his confession and his tribute : 
 
 *' I am free to say that previous to meeting them 
 upon their field of labor I looked upon the work of 
 these missionaries with indifference, if not disfavor, 
 for I had been led to believe that they were accom- 
 plishing little or nothing. But now I have seen and I 
 know of what incalculable value the services are that 
 they are rendering to the poor, benighted people of the 
 coast. 
 
 '' They practically renounce the world and their 
 home ties to spend their lives, until they are too old for 
 further service or their health breaks down, in their 
 heaven-inspired calling, surrounded by people of a dif- 
 ferent race and language, in the most barren land in 
 the world. 
 
 '* When their children reach the age of seven years, 
 they must send them to school at home to be educated. 
 Very often parents and children never meet again. 
 This is, as many of them told me, the greatest sacrifice 
 they are called upon to make, but they realize that it is 
 for the best good of the child and they do not murmur. 
 What heroes and heroines these men and women are ! 
 One must admire and honor them." 
 
 And again he says: *' Of all the missionaries that 
 I met in this bleak Northland, devoted as every one 
 of them is to his lifework, none was more devoted and 
 none was doing a more self-sacrificing work than Rev. 
 Samuel Milliken Stewart of Fort Chimo. His noviti- 
 
 231 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 ate as a missionary was spent in one of the little out- 
 port fishing-stations of Newfoundland. Finally he was 
 transferred to that fearfully barren stretch among the 
 heathen Eskimos north of Nachvak. Here he and his 
 Eskimo servant gathered together such loose drift- 
 wood as they could find, and with this and stones and 
 turf erected a single-room igloo. It was a small affair, 
 not over ten or twelve by fourteen feet in size, and 
 only an imaginary line separated the missionary's quar- 
 ters from those of his servant. 
 
 '' On his knees in an old resting-place for the dead, 
 with the bleaching bones of heathen Eskimos strewn 
 over the rocks about him, he consecrated his life efforts 
 to the conversion of this people to Christianity. Then 
 he went to work to accomplish this in a businesslike 
 way. He set himself the infinite task of learning the 
 difficult language. He lived their life with them, visit- 
 ing and sleeping with them in their filthy igloos — so 
 filthy and filled with stench from the putrid meat and 
 fish scraps that they permit to lie about and decay that 
 frequently at first — until he became accustomed to it — 
 he was forced to seek the open air and relieve the re- 
 sulting nausea. But Stewart is a man of iron will, and 
 he never wavered. He studied his people, administered 
 medicine, and taught the doctrines of Christianity at 
 every opportunity. That first winter was a trying one. 
 All their little stock of fuel was exhausted early. The 
 few articles of furniture that he had brought with 
 him he burned to keep out the frost demon, and before 
 spring they suffered greatly with the cold. 
 
 " The winter before our arrival he transferred his 
 efforts to the Fort Chimo district, where his field would 
 
 232 
 
MISSIONARIES AND MONEY-MAKERS 
 
 be larger and he could reach a greater number of the 
 heathen. During the journey, which was across the 
 upper peninsula, with dogs, he was lost in storms that 
 prevailed at the time, his provisions were exhausted, 
 and one dog had been killed to feed the others before 
 he finally met Eskimos who guided him in safety to 
 George River. 
 
 '' In the little cabin in which he lives, we found him 
 one day with a little pot of high-smelling seal meat 
 cooking for his dogs and a pan of dough-cakes frying 
 for himself. Here I spent many delightful hours. 
 His constant flow of well-told stories, flavored with 
 native Irish wit, was a sure panacea for despondency. 
 I believe Stewart, with his sunny temperament, is really 
 enjoying his life among the heathen, and he has made 
 an obvious impression upon them, for every one turns 
 out to his chapel meetings, where the services are con- 
 ducted in Eskimo, and takes part with a will." 
 
 What a contrast ! Those who go to the land for a 
 short season's stay speak of the hardships and long for 
 the day of relief; those who go for the purpose of gain 
 are full of bitterness and complaint; but those who 
 are spending their lives in the service of Christ, though 
 in the very same surroundings, are satisfied, content. 
 ** They do not murmur," '' Really enjoying his life," 
 *' His well-told stories a sure panacea for despond- 
 ency." These are the comments made by their visitor. 
 No wonder he was impressed! 
 
 What is the secret of this contentment in the most 
 trying surroundings? What but the presence of 
 Christ, who is fulfilling his promise to be with those 
 who go into all the world to preach the Gospel? That 
 
 233 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 promise was not made to the explorer who goes for his 
 own glory, and he feels the hardships he must face; it 
 was not spoken to the man whose whole soul is devoted 
 to the hoarding of gold, and he complains bitterly be- 
 cause of his loneliness. But those who, careless of 
 self, eager for souls, are living in the midst of desola- 
 tion and barrenness, are not only content, but always 
 rejoicing, because the Lord is with them; always they 
 are in the presence of him whose work they are seek- 
 ing to do. It is not strange that the traveler has good 
 words for their work. 
 
 234 
 
XLVII 
 TAKING THE LONG LOOK 
 
 SOMEHOW there are Christians who find it diffi- 
 cult to believe the teaching of Jesus as to the way 
 to be really blessed and happy. They read the Beati- 
 tudes of the fifth chapter of Matthew, and curl up their 
 lips. *' Ah, that's all very well for those who do not 
 have to struggle for daily bread and butter, but the 
 teaching will not do for us," they say. The truth of 
 the matter, however, is that Jesus was laying out the 
 lines for the very people who need to struggle to main- 
 tain an existence. And to them he gave the message, 
 '' Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, 
 where moth and rust consume, and where thieves 
 break through and steal : but lay up for yourselves 
 treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth 
 consume, and where thieves do not break through and 
 steal." 
 
 And because he knew there would always be diffi- 
 culty in making this comparison, he gave men faith, 
 in order that they might realize the truth of his 
 words. 
 
 The Bible is full of pictures of faith, drawn for the 
 inspiration of Christians. For instance, there is the 
 portrait of Abram, whom God told to go out from his 
 homeland to a country which God would show him. 
 *' And he went out, not knowing whither he went." 
 
 235 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 The faith that led him to take this step won for him 
 the title, '' The friend of God." 
 
 Would we be friends of God ? Then we need to pray 
 for faith, for greater faith, always for more faith, in 
 order that we may be ready to follow God wherever 
 he leads. When he makes known for us our duty, 
 we must be ready to obey without question, in- 
 stead of stopping to object, " But " It is human 
 
 to desire to know all the details of a proposed course 
 of action before we commit ourselves to it. It is the 
 part of wisdom to be on our guard thus when we are 
 following human guidance. But when God is our 
 guide, we can well afford to leave details in his hands. 
 
 There is encouragement for every struggling Chris- 
 tain in the fact that Abraham is not the only example 
 of faith mentioned in the Bible. Perhaps some will 
 say that it is impossible to be like Abraham, the father 
 of the faithful ; that is too much to expect, and there- 
 fore, discouraged, they will give up. There is encour- 
 agement, then, in the fact that elsewhere is named one 
 who was just beginning the life of faith, Rahab the 
 foreigner. In the midst of her wandering life she 
 had a gleam of light, and she proved that she saw it by 
 her works. If we feel we cannot be like Abraham, let 
 us at least be like Rahab, and make a beginning. The 
 faith of Abraham will come in due time if we walk 
 with God day by da*y. 
 
 Jeremiah was another man of faith whose portrait 
 is drawn clearly for us. When he was put in prison 
 because of his prophecy of the captivity of God's peo- 
 ple, he bought a piece of property as an evidence of 
 his belief that after the captivity so soon to begin there 
 
 236 
 
TAKING THE LONG LOOK 
 
 would be a gracious return, and an opportunity to en- 
 joy landed possessions. Faith that is worth anything 
 proves itself by the deeds it inspires. 
 
 Then there was Peter. His portrait is included in 
 the Bible company of men of faith. He had faith, 
 but it was very small, and he was ready to let doubt 
 swallow up that little. He showed his little faith by 
 his desire to walk to Jesus on the water; he showed 
 how even his little faith was vanishing when he cried 
 that he was sinking, and so he teaches the lesson 
 that great faith is not necessary if one would lay hold 
 on Jesus, but that it is necessary that the little faith 
 should be well grounded if one is to accomplish any- 
 thing worth while in the Christian life. 
 
 The heroes of faith are not all named in the Bible. 
 Nearly every church can point to its own honor roll 
 of such heroes. There is a church in a small town in 
 a Western State where, for a time, there were so few 
 members that Presbytery thought it wise to dissolve 
 the organization. But the feeble congregation pleaded 
 for more time, and earnestly endured the hard things 
 that came, before their vision of an earnest, active 
 church could come true. The faith of the pioneer 
 heroes has been justified, however, and the church is a 
 tower of strength in the community. 
 
 How many homes, too, have in them heroes and 
 heroines of faith, fathers and mothers who will not 
 give up praying for a wandering son or daughter. 
 Their faith in God, who is ever true to his covenant 
 promise, is abiding. The answer to the prayers may 
 be delayed, but in God's good way and time they know 
 the answer will come. 
 
 '^17 
 
, THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 An observer, who signed himself, " One of the 
 Folks," once told in The Interior of one of these hum- 
 ble, everyday heroes whose faith in God is steadfast 
 in the face of trial. He said : 
 
 "We all sat together in prayer meeting, and the 
 sweet old saint who had not seen the face of man or 
 woman for fifty years sat where every Wednesday 
 evening found him — on the front row of chairs close 
 to where the pastor stood. And the pastor gave out 
 the hymn for us to sing, ' Count Your Many Bless- 
 ings; Name Them One by One.' 
 
 " Now we all knew the dear old man had blessings; 
 we had heard him say so. But none of us thought he 
 had so very many. It was just after he was married 
 that an accident had cost him his sight. He had 
 earned a living for his wife and himself through nearly 
 the whole of a half century by scrubbing other people's 
 clothes clean at the washtub in their little kitchen, the 
 wife standing by to tell him when they were made 
 spotless. Not content to provide this way for two — 
 they were childless — he adopted and raised an orphan 
 niece. Now in his old age he had lost his life com- 
 panion and helper, and apparently about the only 
 earthly satisfaction that remained to him was the faith- 
 ful care of this foster child and her husband. But they 
 were not rich, and what they so gladly shared with him 
 could not be more than a sufficiency. 
 
 " But the pastor had given out, ' Count Your Many 
 Blessings; Name them One by One.' We heard the 
 blind saint sigh, ' I can't do that.' 
 
 " What calamity had befallen here ! Had the blind 
 238 
 
TAKING THE LONG LOOK 
 
 man lost his faith? No — wait — he is finishing his 
 sentence. 
 
 " I can't count them that way ; I'd never get 
 through if I did.' 
 
 " Then we all sang, though ashamedly in our hearts, 
 knowing that we have never been faced with that diffi- 
 culty when we counted our blessings. Then after- 
 ward we prayed that God would open our eyes to see 
 as well as the blind man." 
 
 That man had heard Christ's message, " Be of good 
 cheer; it is I; be not afraid." This was the explana- 
 tion of his serene faith. The same message is spoken 
 to us daily. Let us hear it when anxiety overtakes, 
 when difficulty perplexes, when temptation assails, 
 when sorrow is heavy upon us! What need is there 
 to fear when the Lord is walking on the troubled 
 waters that threaten us, when he is planning for our 
 welfare ? Since he is planning for our happiness, why 
 do we find it so hard to trust our happiness to him? 
 If we wait on him, he will give us the best things of 
 life. Jesus said, '' Seek ye first the kingdom of God 
 and his righteousness, and all these things shall be 
 added unto you." What things? Everything neces- 
 sary to happiness. You don't believe it ? Try it, and 
 see! 
 
 239 
 
ELEVEN 
 SERVING IN FAITH 
 
 24T 
 
" Build a little fence of trust 
 
 Around to-day. 
 Fill the space with loving work, 
 
 And therein stay. 
 Look not through the sheltering bars 
 
 Upon to-morrow. 
 God will help thee bear what comes, 
 
 Of joy and sorrow." 
 
 242 
 
XLVIII 
 
 SHE WOULD NOT DENY HER LORD 
 
 C*ITA, a wealthy Lingait widow in India, was still 
 ^ a girl when her husband died, and she was left to 
 look forward to a long life of loneliness. Fortunately 
 her people did not treat widows as harshly as do peoples 
 in some other parts of India. But her lot was hard 
 enough. 
 
 Her only joy was her two-year-old son. She 
 watched him grow until she was persuaded to let him 
 go into training for the priesthood. Naturally her 
 thoughts were turned more than ever to the native 
 temple, and she went there, seeking comfort. But 
 her heart was unsatisfied. 
 
 Then came a day when a native Christian had a 
 talk with a friend in her hearing. At first she paid 
 little attention to his words. Finally something he said 
 attracted her attention. Soon she was listening with 
 all her might, drinking in the story of him who came 
 to earth that those who put their trust in him might 
 find peace and rest. 
 
 Almost at once she made up her mind that she would 
 believe in Christ. When she applied for admission to 
 the church, she was baptized. 
 
 " Then the storm broke," wrote a missionary, in tell- 
 ing the story. ^ " Had Sita realized that following in 
 
 Mn " A Struggle for a Soul." 
 243 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 the steps of the thorn-crowned Master the disciple 
 must drink of his cup, a cup seven times more bitter 
 than death? 
 
 " Her life had been hard before, but now it became 
 intolerable. On every hand she met with hatred and 
 loathing. Curses and maledictions were hurled at her 
 daily, hourly. Still she clung to her son. But even 
 his baby heart they tried to alienate from the one whose 
 sole remaining joy in life he was. And then, one ter- 
 rible morning, she awoke to find him gone. Where? 
 
 " They had kidnaped him, in the hope that if it were 
 a question of choosing between her son and her new 
 ' swami,' mother-love would give the casting vote. Or 
 if not, at least the boy's mind should not be poisoned, 
 but be trained in the old faith. 
 
 " It was too much. * My son ! Oh, my son ! ' she 
 cried. 
 
 " But there was no voice, no answer, except cruel 
 taunts. 
 
 " ' Give him back to me/ she cried with a breaking 
 heart. ' I will do anything you wish.' 
 
 " ' Undergo the purification rites, then,' they made 
 answer. ' Let your tongue be touched with heated 
 gold, and you will be cleansed.' 
 
 " * I cannot,' she moaned. * I cannot deny the Sa- 
 viour. But in mercy, let me have my son ! The light 
 of my life! I must see his face or die! Give him to 
 me!' 
 
 " But only stony faces and more stony hearts were 
 round her. 
 
 " ' Forsake your Lord,' they insisted relentlessly, ' or 
 you will not have the child.' 
 
 244 
 
SHE WOULD NOT DENY HER LORD 
 
 '' Then her brave spirit embraced the cross. In that 
 hour the sword passed through her soul, but she stood 
 firm. 
 
 *' ' I will never forsake him/ she said steadily, and 
 for a time her tormentors turned away, baffled. 
 
 Years passed. She did not see her son, though she 
 knew she had only to yield and he would be restored to 
 her. But " one thing was clear to her; to deny Christ 
 her Saviour was impossible. All else could be borne, 
 but not to be untrue to him, and to her deepest self." 
 
 Friends forsook her. She had to leave her home and 
 all her property. She was taken in at the mission sta- 
 tion, and there she ministered to those who needed her 
 attention in sickness and in health. 
 
 Daily she prayed that she might see her son once 
 more, and that her faith might become stronger and 
 stronger. 
 
 One day, when she was growing old, she was on the 
 way to the public well when a young man stopped her, 
 and asked for Lingait Sita. She answered that this 
 was her own name. 
 
 " Then you are my mother," he said. 
 
 He was still a heathen priest, and after a short visit 
 he left her to return to the temple. 
 
 And she remained behind, continuing her life of 
 service and her prayers for the son who had been re- 
 stored to her after so many years. 
 
 245 
 
XLIX 
 
 THE PROOF OF THEIR FAITH 
 
 ^~r^HE life speaks louder than words, and the man 
 
 -■- who lives his faith will make more impression on 
 
 those about him than he who is content to tell of it. 
 
 A missionary/ in speaking of his work, said : ^' We 
 cannot remember too much or too often that it is our 
 lives, far more than our teaching, that the natives look 
 at and long to understand. We do, indeed, need to be 
 ' epistles known and read of all men.' Angry words 
 about some mistake by an incapable workman often 
 do serious harm, and deter people from coming under 
 the influence of the Gospel." 
 
 Then the missionary told of a native ofificer who had 
 always resisted every effort to persuade him to listen 
 to the teachers of Christianity. Evidently he had 
 nothing but contempt for the faith of those who talked 
 of Christ. But after a time he was assisting a mission- 
 ary in building a house. Suddenly — to the astonish- 
 ment of his fellow natives — he began to listen to in- 
 struction, and finally he was baptized. 
 
 But the missionary understood the reason for the 
 man's change of attitude : he had seen Christian faith 
 proved under difficult circumstances. '' As a matter of 
 fact, no work is more trying to the temper [than house- 
 building], or gives more splendid opportunities of 
 
 * In " Uganda by Pen and Camera." 
 246 
 
THE PROOF OF THEIR. FAITH 
 
 proving, by a Christian demeanor under all circum- 
 stances, what a life influenced by the Gospel is. In- 
 deed, many workmen, finding the missionary a kind 
 master, so very different from their own native over- 
 seers, are willing to listen to the introduction of 
 the Gospel. 
 
 " The first thing the natives ask about a missionary 
 is, * Is he a kind man ? ' or, as they put it, ' Has he 
 kindness?' If they are told that 'he has kindness,' 
 then they desire to come and see him, and are willing 
 to listen to his teaching. But if he is announced to be 
 a man of anger, people are immediately afraid of him, 
 and take care to stay away." 
 
 Susie Bouchelle Wright has told in a newspaper 
 article of the consequences of the life of faith of a 
 young girl in the homeland : 
 
 " A man of another race once came to visit America, 
 a cultured, thoughtful man, but an unbeliever and 
 what we call, broadly, a heathen. He admitted the 
 superiority of Christianity as a code of ethics, but 
 cited other religions with ideals almost identical, and 
 was outspoken in his doubt of the vital principle of our 
 faith — the changed nature, the indwelling of a divine 
 Spirit. It was all in vain that his friends took him to 
 hear the finest preachers and threw about him the 
 most beautiful ecclesiastical influences. He only shook 
 his head and smiled. " There is nothing in it all," he 
 said, '' except the strong religious instinct which is as 
 much a part of human nature as love or friendship." 
 
 " During his stay a terrible ordeal came to a young 
 girl in the family in which he was visiting, an ordeal 
 which involved humiliation and defeat. If ever re- 
 
 247 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 venge is justifiable it would seem to have been so in 
 this case, so unprovoked and malicious were the cir- 
 cumstances. The keenness of the anguish of it passed 
 after a time, as the keenness of sorrow and despair al- 
 ways does. When the foreigner was about to return 
 to his home, he asked the girl to go with him for a 
 quiet walk in her father's garden. 
 
 *" I am so sorry,' said she timidly, ' that your visit 
 has been spoiled by — what came to me.' 
 
 " He was silent for a moment. ' I am sorry,' said 
 he, * for your hurt — so sorry. But may I tell you 
 something? ' She lifted her tear-filled eyes to his face, 
 and he went on: 
 
 " * You have been on trial before me for the reality 
 of what you profess to believe. I knew that you had 
 confessed Christ, as your saying is. I thought of your 
 Sunday-school class, your three days each week in the 
 mission school, your singing in the choir ; but none of 
 these things counted at all when the trouble came beside 
 the claims that Christians make for their religion. I 
 said to myself, '' I'll watch her carefully now. If this 
 faith of hers will keep her patient and sweet under 
 trial, if it will uphold her in defeat, if it will plead 
 against the impulse for revenge, I shall know that it is 
 something more than human will and nature, for she is 
 just a weak young girl. She has not had the age or the 
 experience that would make her able to reason out 
 things for herself, and get at the science and philosophy 
 of it all — she has nothing but- her religion to fall 
 back on." ' 
 
 '' The girl covered her face with her hands, remem- 
 bering only the weakness of the sobbing and crying 
 
 248 
 
THE PROOF OF THEIR FAITH 
 
 hours, but the stranger removed them gently. ' Look 
 up,' said he, 'and do not be ashamed of anything. I 
 am convinced of the truth of what you beheve — not by 
 your creed or your churches, but by the v^ay a young 
 girl can answer, all unknowing it, the arraignment of 
 her faith.' 
 
 " The man went back to his own country and his 
 own people, and in after years his Christian work 
 brought life and light to hundreds in his native land. 
 But the girl in America just grew into busy woman- 
 hood in a life filled with the simple, everyday cares 
 of a wife and mother; and though she treasured his 
 words in her memory, neither she nor the world ever 
 realized how much she had done for the stranger 
 within the gates." 
 
 Centuries ago Christ said, *' By their fruits ye shall 
 know them." Daily the truth of his words is shown, 
 as Christians prove their faith by lives of devotion, and 
 so win friends and acquaintances to their Master. 
 
 249 
 
FOURTEEN FAITHFUL YEARS 
 
 /^NLY faith in God enabled Ann Hasseltine to 
 ^^ promise to go with Adoniram Judson in the face 
 of his distinct warning that she would be exposed to 
 '' every kind of want and distress; to degradation, in- 
 sult, persecution, and perhaps a violent death; " that 
 together they would see '' many weary, disconsolate 
 hours, and feel a sinking of spirit and an anguish of 
 mind," of which they could have no conception before- 
 hand. But she was not afraid ; she was ready to endure 
 everything with her husband, because she knew that 
 God would be their helper. 
 
 When the promised difficulties began to come, she 
 did not falter. Assuring herself, " These are the trials 
 I anticipated, and which, with God's help, I am ready to 
 meet," she went serenely on her way. 
 
 When anxieties and persecution multiplied, she 
 wrote in her journal, on August 8, 1813: '' We never 
 were happier, never more contented in any situation 
 than the present. We feel that this is the post to which 
 God hath appointed us; that we are in the path of 
 duty." 
 
 Six weeks later husband and wife sat down at the 
 communion table in Rangoon. Two other foreigners 
 were with them. And as they received the Lord's 
 Supper they saw by faith the day when thousands 
 
 250 
 
FOURTEEN FAITHFUL YEARS 
 
 of natives would gather for a like service. They 
 knew that day would come: did they not have God's 
 promise ? 
 
 Years passed. Trouble and sorrows increased, but 
 faith became stronger, and God enabled the devoted 
 husband and wife to go on their way in peace. They 
 reaped the beginning of the harvest the eye of faith 
 had seen when there was not a single convert. They 
 hoped that the worst was past. Their future looked 
 especially bright when the king invited them to make 
 their home in Ava, the capital city. In 1824, after 
 this removal, friends in America heard that all was 
 going well with them ; then two years passed without a 
 word, so that those who knew them became frantic 
 with anxiety. 
 
 Their anxiety would have been increased if they had 
 known that war had broken out between England and 
 Burmah, and that all the foreigners at the capital were 
 suspected of being spies. Mr. and Mrs. Judson felt 
 secure in the knowledge of the king's favor, but on 
 June 8, 1824, they were astonished by a visit from the 
 public executioner, who, without a word of explana- 
 tion, seized the missionary, threw him on the floor, 
 bound him with cords, and dragged him away to the 
 prison. With admirable forethought Mrs. Judson at 
 once destroyed all letters and diaries in the house, lest 
 these be found by searchers and something in them dis- 
 torted into a semblance of evidence against her hus- 
 band. 
 
 At first the devoted wife was tempted to give way 
 to despair as she thought of her sorrowful situation. 
 She was alone in the midst of foes, the only English- 
 
 251 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 speaking woman in the city. Her husband could do 
 nothing for her; perhaps she would never see him 
 again. 
 
 Then faith triumphed. She realized that she was 
 not alone. God was with her; she knew he would 
 not forsake her. So she cast herself on his care, and 
 asked for strength to bear what was yet to come to her 
 of anxiety and hardship. 
 
 That night she was herself seized and placed under 
 guard, but no information was given her as to Mr. 
 Judson's fate; not until morning did she learn that he 
 was in the death prison, bound with three pairs of iron 
 fetters, and fastened by the ankles to a long horizontal 
 pole several feet from the ground. Her first thought 
 was of his safety, rather than her own, so she wrote 
 a letter to the king's sister, appealing to her to inter- 
 cede on behalf of Mr. Judson. When, a little later, 
 Mrs. Judson was released, she forced her way, in spite 
 of many obstacles, to the governor of the city, who, 
 after listening to her, said he could not set the mission- 
 ary free, but that it was in his power to make his con- 
 finement more bearable. Was she willing to pay for 
 favors to him? 
 
 She did not stop to think that money was scarce, 
 but at once handed over the equivalent of one hun- 
 dred dollars and secured an order for the removal of 
 her husband from the dreadful death chamber to a 
 shed in the prison yard, where she could, if she wished, 
 send him food. 
 
 The resourceful wife next hastened to the queen's 
 sister and asked her help. At first the princess refused, 
 but her woman's heart was so touched by continued en- 
 
 252 
 
FOURTEEN FAITHFUL YEARS 
 
 treaties that she promised to do her best. That her 
 efforts proved unavaiHng was apparent next day, when 
 officers of the king searched the home of the mission- 
 aries and confiscated most of their goods. Fortunately 
 Mrs. Judson managed to secrete a sum of money, other- 
 wise she would have been unable to continue her fight 
 for her husband's life. 
 
 At first she hoped to be successful within a few days, 
 but weeks and months passed and he was still in the 
 prison. Then, more than ever before, she poured 
 out her heart before him in whom was her confidence, 
 and always she received strength to make fresh efforts. 
 Nearly every day for several months she visited some 
 one of the royal family. Hope would be kindled by 
 these visits, only to be quickly dashed again. Some- 
 times those who received her treated her shamefully. 
 Once, when Mr. Judson was suffering from fever, and 
 five pairs of fetters were on his ankles, she walked 
 several miles in the burning sun of midsummer to see 
 an official who, she hoped, might do something for his 
 relief. When he had refused her request, she was turn- 
 ing disappointedly away, when he demanded her silk 
 umbrella. As it would be dangerous to walk without 
 protection, she asked him for a paper umbrella in ex- 
 change, explaining that she had no money with her. 
 With a brutal laugh he told her that she was too thin to 
 suffer from sunstroke. She was thin; her sufferings 
 had wasted her to a skeleton. 
 
 During these months Mrs. Judson was permitted to 
 visit the prison. The husband's faith in God was as 
 firm as that of his wife. They strengthened one an- 
 other as they talked of the day of God's deliverance. 
 
 253 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 Many times Mr. Judson was heard repeating Madame 
 Guyon's lines: 
 
 No place I seek, but to fulfill, 
 
 In life and death, thy lovely will; 
 
 No succor in my woes I want. 
 
 Except what thou art pleased to grant. 
 
 The jailers demanded bribes for every privilege al- 
 lowed. Frequently they would not permit Mrs. Jud- 
 son to come during the daytime, so that she had to 
 walk two miles from the prison to her home long after 
 dark. Once she was allowed to take the sufferer a 
 pillow, in which she had secreted their uncompleted 
 manuscript of the Burmese translation of the Bible; 
 she thought this would be the safest place for it. 
 
 For his protection in the winter weather she secured 
 leave, again for a consideration, to build with her 
 own hands a little bamboo hut in the prison yard. 
 Several months later, when the hut was torn down by 
 the jailers, she appealed to the governor, who assured 
 her that she might as well cease her efforts ; it was only 
 with difficulty that he had managed to keep her hus- 
 band from the executioner. Not until Mr. Judson was 
 attacked by a wasting fever could she take him from 
 the small, unventilated room in which one hundred 
 prisoners were confined to a second hut within the 
 walls. Then, with her babe, Marie, who was born 
 seven months after the beginning of the imprisonment, 
 she spent her time in a hut without the walls, also 
 built by herself. 
 
 One day the governor called her to the palace. 
 When she returned her husband had disappeared. Al- 
 though warned that she had better look to her own 
 
 254 
 
FOURTEEN FAITHFUL YEARS 
 
 safety, she hurried in search of him, carrying her 
 babe. At last she overtook him and learned that he 
 had been dragged at the end of a rope a distance of 
 nine miles, without food, with bare feet, over the 
 scorching hot stones. 
 
 In the village where the exhausted prisoner was next 
 confined smallpox broke out in the jailer's family. 
 Mrs. Judson, forgetting the father's unkindness to her, 
 nursed the sick children and saved their lives, but the 
 effort almost cost her own. For two months she tossed 
 in fever. Little Marie, deprived of her accustomed 
 nourishment, was pining away, till the mother, by 
 bribing the jailers, secured leave for Mr. Judson to 
 take the child daily to beg a little nourishment from 
 the mothers of young children in the village. 
 
 But even this relief was not long possible. While 
 the wife was still sick, the husband was taken from her 
 side and sent away. Fearing that he was to become 
 once more an inmate of the prison pen, the despairing 
 wife prayed as she never had prayed before for his 
 release. Still her faith was strong; she knew that God 
 had not forgotten them. 
 
 The answer came in an unexpected way. When the 
 English approached the city, the general, as one con- 
 dition of his retirement, demanded that all prisoners 
 should be set free. Thus the husband was returned to 
 the wife, without whose efforts he could never have 
 lived through the long period of imprisonment. 
 
 What that reunion meant to the husband of such a 
 wife may be judged from his words, spoken to a friend, 
 to whom he was once talking of the highest possible 
 pleasure in life: '' What do you think of floating down 
 
 255 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 the Irrawaddy, on a cool, moonlight evening with your 
 wife by your side, and your baby in your arms, free — 
 all free? But you cannot understand it; it needs a 
 twenty-one months' qualification; and I can never re- 
 gret my twenty-one months of misery, when I recall 
 that one delicious thrill. I think I have had a better 
 appreciation of what heaven may be ever since." 
 
 Mrs. Judson, too, gave expression to her joy in the 
 deliverance that had come to them : " I presume to 
 say," she wrote in a home letter, *' that no persons on 
 earth ever were happier than we were. . . . Our feel- 
 ings continually dictated expressions like this, * What 
 shall we render to the Lord for all his benefits to- 
 wards us! ' " 
 
 Benefits ? Did they call pain and anxiety and grief, 
 privation and prison and fetters, benefits? Yes! 
 When they were in the midst of the trials they knew 
 that all would be well with them ; and when the trials 
 were past they were reaping the joys that faith told 
 them would be theirs. 
 
 256 
 
LI 
 THE FAITH OF A WORKER 
 
 " May'st thou grow to know and fear him, 
 Love and serve him all thy days; 
 Then go dwell forever near him, 
 See his face and sing his praise." 
 
 'T^HIS was the prayer of an English mother, as she 
 -■- held her youngest daughter in her arms. That 
 daughter was Irene Petrie, who became *' one of the 
 first representatives of the missionary movement 
 among students to fall in the forefront of foreign 
 missions." 
 
 The baby thus dedicated to God in infancy early 
 gave herself to the Saviour. For a time life went 
 quite smoothly, and it did not seem hard to trust in her 
 heavenly Father. But when she was yet a young girl 
 she was put to the test. Her father, a soldier who had 
 retired after honorable service, lost much of his for- 
 tune, and the remainder was endangered. For some 
 years the young girl who had been accustomed to a 
 care-free life was troubled as she saw her parents' 
 anxiety. Her faith was well grounded, however. In 
 her diary she made three references, and only three, to 
 the misfortune which would to so many be the one 
 subject of thought and conversation; and two of these 
 references were an expression of unquestioning trust. 
 Once she wrote : '' ' It is better to walk in the dark 
 
 257 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 with God than to go alone alone in the light.' " And 
 again : " ' God is our refuge and strength, a very pres- 
 ent help in trouble.' " 
 
 This early misfortune was the best preparation for 
 life. When, later, the cause for anxiety was removed, 
 Irene was a sweet, winsome woman. Her biographer 
 mentions the fact that the shadow on her early days 
 left her " with no tinge of sadness, still less of bitter- 
 ness, but with a deep sense of the seriousness of life, 
 and of our stewardship for everything we own, since 
 it is * our Lord's money'; with a peculiarly tender 
 affection for both her parents, and a true-hearted 
 sympathy for the unsuccessful and unfortunate; above 
 all, with a childlike trust in God; so when success and 
 popularity came to her, they did not intoxicate her, 
 even in the first glow of abundant life." 
 
 As a schoolgirl she was diligent and faithful. Her 
 .reports stated that she was never absent and never late. 
 Although frequently the youngest in her class, she took 
 high honors. In the Cambridge higher local examina- 
 tions " she was one of three examinees in all Eng- 
 land who were ' distinguished ' in each of the three 
 branches of the history group." 
 
 In 1885 she was presented at court, and at once en- 
 tered on a life of travel, concerts, exhibitions, enter- 
 taining, and being entertained. She was a general 
 favorite, but her popularity did not spoil her. A friend 
 said of her at the time: " Irene Petrie truly had great 
 gifts, and she not only enjoyed them gratefully, as 
 coming from a loving Father's hand, but used them 
 every one in his service." 
 
 In all her social life she remembered she was " not 
 
 258 
 
THE FAITH OF A WORKER 
 
 her own." She asked God's blessing on all she did. 
 To an intimate friend she said : " I should as soon 
 think of going out to pay calls without putting on my 
 hat as without offering up a prayer." 
 
 This habit of prayerful waiting on God made her 
 dissatisfied with the thought of a life of selfish ease. 
 She made no secret of the fact that she dreamed of 
 this once, however. In her own words : " There was 
 a time when a life of leisure for literature and art, and 
 ample means as mistress of a spacious country house, 
 seemed most desirable to me. Now I know that it 
 could never satisfy me." 
 
 It was not long before she began to fashion her life 
 in accordance with the text, " In the kingdom of heaven 
 there is no room for an idle person." And when she 
 sought something to do, her question was : " What is 
 least likely to be done by others, if I do not do it? For 
 years she was a Sunday-school teacher. During eight 
 years of her service it was said that she never ab- 
 sented herself from her post. Moreover, she was 
 determined to be thoroughly equipped for her work. 
 
 During these years of teaching this devoted girl was 
 always busy. She wrote letters to absent pupils, enter- 
 tained her large class in sections in her own home, and 
 gave noonday addresses to working women. At the 
 Prison Mission and numerous church gatherings she 
 assisted with her voice. She was instrumental in or- 
 ganizing the '' College by Post " which has done a 
 great work in training girls who have been deprived 
 of educational advantages. Four hundred skilled 
 teachers were enlisted in this enterprise. 
 
 She was not one of those " good people whose time 
 259 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 seems to be at the command of everyone except their 
 nearest relatives." There is abundant testimony to 
 her helpfulness in all that concerned her father and 
 sisters. In the home entertainments she was a perfect 
 hostess. 
 
 She was always ready to put herself out for the 
 neglected. She often placed herself by '' some elderly 
 or timid guest, or brought all her lively fancy to the 
 entertaining of one who might have been passed by 
 as the most insignificant person present." It is not 
 strange, then, that she was '* the life of the whole party 
 in a country house, organizing games on a wet day, 
 telling stories to the children, willing not only to play 
 or to sing herself as happily to an audience of one as 
 to a roomful of connoisseurs, but to show off some 
 one's else playing or singing to the best advantage as a 
 skillful and sympathetic accompanist." 
 
 In October, 1891, after a season of more than usual 
 social enjoyment, she met Mr. Robert P. Wilder, the 
 founder of the Student Volunteer Movement. " Then 
 the clear call to leave the home life was heard." She 
 wrote a letter to the Church Missionary Society, offer- 
 ing herself as a missionary. This first letter was never 
 mailed; it was destroyed when she saw her lonely 
 father's grief at the thought of the separation. A few 
 months later his death occurred, and soon she was on 
 her way to India. 
 
 This was in October, 1893. Four years of activity 
 followed. Then she died. One year of this time was 
 spent in travel, and at home. But think of what she 
 accomplished in the remaining three years : 
 
 '' She mastered Urdi and Kashmiri, and made some 
 260 
 
THE FAITH OF A WORKER 
 
 progress in Hindi ; and she diligently instructed in the 
 Gospel five different classes of people; children of 
 Europeans, through Sunday schools; Eurasians, espe- 
 cially women and children; her own servants, mostly 
 Mohammedans ; Kashmiri schoolboys, mostly Hindus ; 
 and zenana women, Hindu and Mohammedan, of many 
 different degrees socially and intellectually. Her mu- 
 sical and artistic powers were turned to account to 
 secure friends for the work in a variety of ways ; her 
 pen spoke of it to many at home, both in magazine 
 articles and in private letters. And though she never 
 allowed herself to be drawn into society to the hin- 
 drance of her work, the recollection of her intercourse 
 with * station people ' made a resident in India assert 
 that looking only at her influence over her compatriots, 
 one could never say that her life had been thrown 
 away." 
 
 No, her life was fruitful, wherever she was. ** She 
 did so adorn the religion she professed," a friend 
 wrote. " She made goodness itself attractive," said 
 another. " She was one of those rare, beautiful souls 
 who carry wherever they go an atmosphere of purity 
 and goodness, and insensibly make all who come in 
 contact with them better for their sweet influence," 
 was the comment of another. And Mrs. Ashley Carus- 
 Wilson, her biographer, adds: *' She lived her religion; 
 she did not talk about it. Her whole career was a tes- 
 timony to the hope that was in her." 
 
 261 
 
TWELVE 
 IN LIFE AND IN DEATH 
 
 263 
 
The gates of life swing either way 
 On noiseless hinges, night and day. 
 One enters through the open door; 
 One leaves it, to return no more. 
 And which is happier, which more blest, 
 God knoweth best. 
 
 We greet with smiles the one who comes 
 Like sunshine to our hearts and homes, 
 And reach out longing hands with tears 
 To him who in his ripened years 
 Goes gladly to his heavenly rest. 
 God knoweth best. 
 
 He guards the gates. We need not dread 
 The path those little feet must tread. 
 Nor fear for him who from our sight 
 Passed through them to the realms of light. 
 Both in his loving care we rest. 
 God knoweth best. 
 
 — Mary Wharton Lyon. 
 
 264 
 
LII 
 
 A FINISHED TRANSACTION 
 
 A WIDOW in the Congo district of Africa who 
 •^^^ had become interested in Christianity lost her 
 only daughter. She gave up attendance at church, for 
 she said she could no longer believe in a God of love. 
 In a missionary biography the story is told of a 
 Christian who tried to comfort her. ** He told her 
 the pathetic story of the widow of Nain in the graphic 
 manner natural to the Congo native. He said the 
 poor widow had nursed and watched and wept . . . 
 until the dread day when her son was taken from her. 
 Then she screamed . . . and cut herself ... in her 
 grief; but it was of no avail. . . . Just then there 
 came along One who was full of majesty and gentle- 
 ness and love . . . bidding her not to weep, for her 
 son was not dead, but sleeping. . . . This stranger 
 touched the bier . . . and her son was restored to 
 life. ' I cannot tell you your child will come back 
 again,' the native continued, * but Jesus is the same, 
 loving and tender as he ever was. Trust in him, and 
 you will meet your daughter again.' * Since that time,' 
 as the sorrowing mother told a friend, ' my tears have 
 all gone, I have trusted the Saviour, and never doubted 
 his love.' " 
 
 Unless our faith in Christ is like that of this African 
 Christian, giving us assurance that as he rose from the 
 
 265 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 dead, so also shall we rise, and our loved ones, our 
 faith is vain. This was the message Paul gave to his 
 friends at Corinth, a message that should find an echo 
 in every believer's heart, not only in days when no one 
 is called from the home into God's presence, but also 
 in days when faith is put to the test by the coming^ 
 God's messenger. Death. 
 
 An old volume, the journal of John Winthrop, Gov- 
 ernor of Massachusetts Bay Colony, tells how one 
 man stood this hard test. He landed in America in 
 July, 1630. The very next day his son, Henry, was 
 drowned in a creek near the landing place. When 
 the father wrote to his wife, who was still in England, 
 he began the letter : ^' Blessed be the Lord our good and 
 merciful Father that yet hath preserved me in life and 
 health to salute thee, and to comfort thy longing heart 
 with the joyful news of my welfare and the welfare of 
 thy beloved children." Having thus sounded the note 
 of triumphant faith, he told gently the news of Henry's 
 death. 
 
 The record reminds one of the inquiry the Old 
 Testament prophet made of a mother concerning her 
 son, " Is it well with the lad ? " and her reply, " It is 
 well." And just a little while before her son's eyes 
 had been closed in death. 
 
 She was right, and the Puritan governor was right : 
 it is well with those whom God calls to himself, well 
 for them and well for us. For God has taken them 
 away from the limitations of life, and we can look for- 
 ward to going to them when God's call comes to us. 
 
 So when the blinds are drawn and the bell is muffled 
 and all the house is still because one who has been sick 
 
 266 
 
A FINISHED TRANSACTION 
 
 has closed his eyes for the last time on earth; when 
 eyes are burning with tears and hearts are heavy be- 
 cause of fearful anticipations of years spent without 
 the presence of one dear to us, let the words of Christ 
 sink into our hearts, " The damsel is not dead, but 
 sleepeth." The life of those who love Jesus does not 
 end when the eyes close in death; they will open again 
 to see the glory of the King. Some day our eyes, too, 
 will close in sleep, and we shall awaken where he is, 
 and where are our loved ones who have gone before us. 
 
 Yet there is apt to come to every Christian a time 
 when his faith in the resurrection falters. The tempter 
 suggests doubts, and the suggestion causes dismay and 
 worry. 
 
 But why ? 
 
 When a piece of ground has been bought and paid 
 for, when the title deeds have passed and been recorded, 
 when the title has been examined and insured, the busi- 
 ness man does not worry about the reality of his in- 
 vestment or wish that he might do something more to 
 get possession of the property; he knows it is his. 
 Then why do so many Christians worry about death 
 and what is to come after death? 
 
 The absurdity of this worry is apparent when one 
 reads a message like that once penned to a friend by 
 Dr. Herrick Johnson : '' We shall be going soon, and 
 we have no new terms to make with the blessed Lord. 
 We took him at his word, and settled things once for 
 all, and we need not trouble ourselves about the final 
 issue. * I'm a poor sinner and nothing at all,' but 
 I can look up into the Lord's face and say, * Thou 
 knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee.' " 
 
 267 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 There is greater assurance of the reality of our 
 possession of eternal life when once the heart has been 
 given to Christ than there is of the reality of our pos- 
 session of earthly property. Earthly possessions de- 
 pend on the integrity of men, but our possession of 
 eternal life depends on the integrity of God. 
 
 268 
 
LIII 
 
 LOOKING DEATH IN THE FACE 
 
 "VTINETEEN hundred years ago, when the elders 
 ^ ^ and the scribes threatened Peter and John, what 
 gave them strength to stand unmoved? The threats 
 might mean death, and they knew it. How could 
 Stephen calmly face death at the hands of the preju- 
 diced mob? How could the early Christians, driven 
 from their homes because of their faith in Christ, con- 
 tinue to tell of their faith to others when they knew 
 that death might be the penalty? 
 
 There is just one answer. Death had no terrors 
 for them. Christ, whose will they were trying to 
 do, had conquered death, and so had robbed death of 
 all its terrors for everyone who believed in him. Their 
 Lord was living; they were sure of this. They could 
 think of no greater joy than to be forever with him. 
 Death would mean only going to him. Life on earth 
 was dear to them, but life with Christ was dearer still. 
 
 Imagine, then, what consternation there would be 
 among the Christians when some tried to persuade 
 them that there could be no resurrection of the dead. 
 The heart would be taken out of their religion if they 
 should believe this, as Paul showed them when he 
 argued : " If there is no resurrection for you, then there 
 was no resurrection for Christ; if Christ is not risen, 
 then we preachers have been lying, you who have list- 
 
 269 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 ened to us have been deceived, your faith is worthless, 
 your sins are unforgiven, you are without hope. But 
 Christ rose — I know it, for I have seen him and spoken 
 to him; therefore you, too, shall rise; it is his promise. 
 So your faith is justified, and our preaching is not in 
 vain." 
 
 Just what belief in a message like that can mean 
 was shown to two boys in Syria, not very far from 
 the spot where the author of this message saw the 
 risen Christ on the road to Damascus. The boys were 
 camping one night in a tent near the place where their 
 father. Rev. William K. Eddy, was planning to preach 
 next day. After all had lain down to sleep, Mr. Eddy 
 realized that a bloodvessel in his chest had burst. He 
 called his servant and his children and said, " To-day 
 our dear Dr. Ford is just sailing from America for 
 Syria, and I am leaving Syria for heaven." After 
 sending messages to his friends and farnily, he asked 
 his son Clarence to repeat the Twenty-third Psalm. 
 Then he said, *' Let us go to sleep." '' At midnight, 
 when others were sleeping, he went down into the val- 
 ley and up into the brightness of the life of the re- 
 deemed," a friend said, in telling of his death. 
 
 Another Christian showed his belief a little differ- 
 ently, but the meaning was the same : '' Some day you 
 will read in the papers that D. L. Moody, of East 
 Northfield, is dead. Don't you believe a word of it! 
 At that moment I shall be more alive than I am now. I 
 shall have gone up higher, that's all — out of this old 
 clay tenement into a house that is immortal : a body that 
 death cannot touch, that sin cannot taint, a body 
 fashioned like unto his glorious body. I was born 
 
 270 
 
LOOKING DEATH IN THE FACE 
 
 of the flesh in 1837. I was born of the Spirit in 1856. 
 That which is born of the flesh may die. That which 
 is born of the Spirit will live forever." 
 
 Faith like this not only takes away the fear of death, 
 but it helps to solve the problem of life. It becomes 
 so much easier to resist temptation when one stops to 
 think that one has a living Saviour who has promised 
 to take us to be with him, and is even now living 
 in our hearts, giving us the strength of heaven for our 
 earthly tasks. 
 
 What he can do for a boy was shown in 1908, when 
 Mark Njoji, a young convert from Bolenge, West 
 Central Africa, who had come to America for train- 
 ing, was tempted to forget his Christian profession. 
 Mark, the son of the greatest witch doctor in a large 
 region, who had been trained by his father to be his suc- 
 cessor, was asked by a lecturer to give to an American 
 audience an exhibition of witch dancing. He needed 
 the money. But he did not hesitate. *' I did not 
 come here as a witch doctor," he answered. " I came 
 by the word of the Father who liveth in heaven." 
 
 It is impossible to explain an act like this by say- 
 ing that the boy was deceiving himself. He had 
 learned the secret of triumphant living of which Dr. 
 David Gregg has told: ''In a Scottish valley, beside 
 a little brook, where there was no kindly soil, a High- 
 lander once planted a tree. Of course, it wilted and 
 drooped. But suddenly, to the surprise of every- 
 one, it took a new start in life and bore rich 
 fruit. What was the source of its new life? An 
 examination revealed the secret. With a marvelous 
 vegetable instinct it sent out a shoot which ran 
 
 271 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 along and over a little sheep bridge, and rooted 
 itself in the rich loam on the other side of the brook. 
 From this rich loam it drew its new life. Even so the 
 resurrection of Jesus Christ bridges the River of Death 
 that flows between earth and heaven, and the souls 
 of men who see and know this send out the shoot of 
 faith, and this shoot, running over the bridge between 
 earth and heaven, roots itself in the spiritual realities 
 beyond, and draws spiritual life from the very fullness 
 of God!" 
 
 272 
 
LIV 
 OF ONE BLOOD 
 
 ^T^HE expression of faith is the same the world over. 
 ■^ However people may differ in race or education 
 or situation, when they show that they have '' convic- 
 tion of things not seen" distinctions disappear; the 
 recent convert from heathenism becomes like the man 
 who is enjoying the heritage that comes from genera- 
 tions of Christian ancestors. For God hath " made no 
 distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts 
 by faith." 
 
 A missionary in China has told of an old woman 
 who presented herself for baptism and was asked as to 
 her faith. She answered, " I am a dull old woman, but 
 I know that I am a sinner, and that the Father can 
 save me, the Lord can save me, the Holy Spirit can 
 save me. More than this I do not understand." Of 
 course she was baptized. A year later she died. When 
 the end came, she prayed aloud, " Father, save me. 
 Lord Jesus, save me, Holy Spirit, save." 
 
 A missionary in India who spoke of baptizing forty 
 people, said in a letter to friends at home that two 
 nights before the baptism the head men of the village 
 came down, angry, furious, because this work had been 
 going on. They came down at ten o'clock at night, 
 called the men out of their homes, and said to them, 
 " Now, then, those men that are going to become Chris- 
 
 273 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 tians stand on one side; those who are going to be with 
 us stand on the other side. From the men w^ho be- 
 come Christians we take away work and land; w^e deny 
 them the village washerwoman ; we deny them the vil- 
 lage barber ; we deny all we can. Now, those who are 
 going to be Christians go on that side." Everyone that 
 was under instructions for baptism took his place as a 
 Christian. 
 
 The biographer of Mrs. Elizabeth Fry, the English 
 Quakeress who devoted her life to alleviating the con- 
 dition of prisoners, tells how many afflictions came to 
 her in later life. A much-loved daughter died, her 
 father lost his fortune, and the family was compelled to 
 leave the comfortable country home. Severe illness 
 came to one and another of the home circle. In all 
 these misfortunes she had the sympathy of millions. 
 William Wilberforce wrote to her : 
 
 '' You, I doubt not, will be enabled to feel, as well 
 as know, that even this event will be one of those 
 which, in your instance, are working for good. You 
 have been enabled to exhibit a bright specimen of 
 Christian excellence in doing the will of God, and I 
 doubt not you will manifest a similar specimen in the 
 harder and more difficult exercise of suffering it." 
 
 The confidence of her correspondent was justified. 
 In her time of trouble, she showed the same trust 
 which had enabled her to undertake many difficult 
 tasks in her Master's name. Once, during her time 
 of greatest affliction, she w^as attending Quaker meet- 
 ing on First Day. The big tears rolled down her face 
 in quick succession, testifying to her sorrow and 
 anguish. Yet before the session ended she rose, 
 
 274 
 
OF ONE BLOOD 
 
 calmed herself, and spoke most thrillingly from the 
 words : " Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him." 
 In a letter to her children, she expressed the same faith : 
 " I have found such help and strength in prayer to 
 God; and, highly mysterious as this dispensation may 
 be in some points of view, yet I think I have frequently, 
 if not generally, been able to say, ' Not as I will, but as 
 thou wilt.' " 
 
 So like this expression of faith that would not shrink 
 was the message in the midst of bitter anguish of an 
 American negro of whom Rev. D. Baines Griffiths has 
 told in The Sunday School Times: 
 
 " It was fifteen minutes past opening time when the 
 cashier of the bank reached his desk. After attend- 
 ing to the wants of a lady who had been waiting to see 
 him, he turned to his colleagues and explained his 
 tardiness. ' My darkey was burned out last night,' he 
 said. The clerks had heard before of the cashier's 
 colored protege, so that their interest w^as aroused as 
 the cashier proceeded to details. 
 
 " His darkey friend was a middle-aged man who 
 lived a few streets away. For some years he had been 
 working at the packing-house in the south end. By 
 careful planning he had succeeded in building a ' resi- 
 dence,' a three-roomed cottage, hardly more than a 
 shanty. The fire insurance men smilingly expressed 
 their regrets that they could not accept the risk. But 
 it was a royal home for him and his wife and babies. 
 Moreover, the happy time had come, and he was mak- 
 ing his last payments on his property. 
 
 *' It was late in the afternoon when the fire had broken 
 out, the flames doing speedy and thorough work. The 
 
 275 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 firemen took supper that evening at the usual hour, and 
 they were not fatigued. Sympathetic neighbors at- 
 tended to Abe's wife, the little folks being cared for 
 by the banker's family. 
 
 ** ' We knew that Abe would soon be coming from 
 work,' the cashier said, * and we hated to see him turn 
 the corner and see what had happened to his little all. 
 Pretty soon we saw him come into the road, and we 
 watched and waited. Our hearts fairly ached for the 
 poor fellow. All at once he stopped and staggered. 
 Then he picked himself together, and came slowly 
 toward the desolation. The neighbors stood around 
 wanting to say something, but all of us seemed tongue- 
 tied. When the man reached the group, as we stood 
 near the ruins of his home, he took off his hat and 
 bowed his head. Then we heard him say, quietly but 
 clearly, " The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken 
 away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." ' 
 
 " ' I tell you, men,' continued the cashier, as he 
 wiped his eyes, ' I'm not much on churches, and you 
 know it; but I think I'd give every dollar I'm worth 
 if I could have a religion like that.' " 
 
 It is the glory of those who trust in Christ that their 
 possession is not for themselves only: all may share 
 it who will. For God has made *' of one blood all 
 nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the 
 earth." 
 
 276 
 
LV 
 
 FRET NOT 
 
 \T /"HY does a Christian allow himself to be afraid, 
 ^ ^ when he knows that God is his Father, and that 
 he himself is God's son? A Scotch lad learned the 
 folly of such fear when he was walking by night with 
 his father. He was trembling because of the imagi- 
 nary terrors of the darkness. His father drew him 
 close to his side, threw the skirt of his mantle over 
 the boy's head and led him homeward. The memory 
 of the way in which fear took its flight, helped him 
 in later years, when he was tempted to distrust God. 
 God, his Father, was by his side : why should he fear ? 
 
 Yet every Christian has his seasons of discourage- 
 ment and fear, when he feels that everything is against 
 him and that he might just as well give up trying. 
 Some people seem to have this feeling most of the time ; 
 others give way to depressing thought once in a while, 
 perhaps when something has gone wrong in business, 
 or when the maid has left without warning, or when 
 one of the children has been guilty of some grave 
 fault. But whatever the reason given for his dis- 
 couragement, the real secret is in the Christian himself. 
 He is not living close enough to God. The heart that 
 is fixed, trusting in God, is superior to discouragement 
 and fear. 
 
 For the earnest Christian there is never a night so 
 ^77 
 
THE BOOK OF' FAITH IN GOD 
 
 dark that the light of day does not break after it. 
 There is never a storm so fierce that it is not followed 
 by peace and sunshine. Never is life so full of bitter- 
 ness and woe that God does not have waiting some 
 rich blessing for that life. Courage, then! Is the 
 burden heavy? He will help us bear it. Is the heart 
 sad? He knows the heart's bitterness. Is our sky 
 dark? The day will dawn, and we shall yet sing for 
 joy. 
 
 Yet we do give way to the temptation to think that 
 God has forgotten us and his promise to be with us. 
 Sometimes it seems to us that God has so many more 
 important things to think of that he cannot be ex- 
 pected to remember about our needs. Then we must 
 remind ourselves that he has promised to be with 
 his people; that is enough. He '' is not a man, that he 
 should lie." His word is never forgotten. Long years 
 before the Israelites were taken into captivity the 
 return from the captivity was promised. Centuries 
 before Christ came into the world God told of his com- 
 ing. Ages before we were born God thought about 
 us, made plans for us, and he is only waiting our 
 leave to carry out his plans, to let us read his thoughts, 
 to love us freely. 
 
 There are those who are perfectly ready to say they 
 will believe in God's love if he does certain things, but 
 that his failure to do these things will make them 
 doubt. This is not faith. To the Christian God is 
 God and God is good, though the heavens fall. The 
 faith of Daniel's friends who were cast into the furnace 
 would not have been disturbed if God had not seen fit 
 to deliver them from the fire. It was enough for 
 
 278 
 
FRET NOT 
 
 them to know that God is able to deliver his own. 
 Just how he will deliver them, or when, is another 
 matter, which can safely be left with him. 
 
 There are those who are ready to trust in God if 
 they can see just how he is going to take care of them. 
 But is that trust? There are others who are ready 
 to trust God absolutely, whether they can see or not; 
 they are perfectly willing to trust him in the dark. 
 That was the way the widow to whom God sent Elijah 
 trusted God. She believed God's Word, and was ready 
 to do his will, even if it seemed most unlikely that 
 there could be any issue but starvation for herself and 
 her boy. Such faith as that is always justified by 
 results. 
 
 God makes sure provision for those who obey 
 him, according to his knowledge of their needs. He 
 knows that it is not always best to give us the satisfac- 
 tion of seeing an ample supply of creature comforts 
 ahead of us, enough for many years; but if we are 
 doing his will, we can count on him to give us what we 
 need when we need it. When the waters of Cherith 
 were gone, and not till then, God showed Elijah the 
 way to find more water. When the widow's last 
 portion of meal was gone, and not till then, God gave 
 her another measure. Elijah knew it would be so; 
 therefore he did not spoil his enjoyment of the bless- 
 ings he had by mournful doubts as to what he would 
 do when these were gone. Why do we not follow his 
 example ? Why do we doubt and fret and fear ? Why 
 are we so like the old fisherman in the sketch by " Jen- 
 nette Lee," who said : 
 
 *' I used to fret about everything — fretted for fear 
 279 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 it would blow, and for fear it wouldn't blow. I never 
 put down a net nor a lobster-pot that I didn't see 'em 
 bein' chewed up or knocked to pieces. I'd see a shark 
 swimmin' right through a big hole — rip-p-p-tear ! I 
 could see it as plain as if I was down under the water. 
 I can see it just the same now if I shut my eyes, only 
 it's fishes I see swimmin' into my net now — shoals of 
 'em. They ain't a shark in sight ! " 
 
 Nor will there be anything really disquieting in the 
 sight of those who heed the message of him who said: 
 " Fear thou not; for I am with thee; be not dismayed ; 
 for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee; yea, I will 
 help thee ; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand 
 of my righteousness." 
 
 280 
 
LVI 
 THE FAITH OF A LEPER 
 
 WHEN Mary Reed discovered that she was a leper, 
 she had been a missionary in India for five 
 years, and had been in America for her health for 
 several months. 
 
 At once she made her arrangements to return to 
 India, deciding that God had permitted her to contract 
 the disease in order that she might be his messenger to 
 the afflicted lepers of India. " Not with a sigh, but 
 with a song," she prayed, " thy will be done." 
 
 To one member of her family only, her sister Rena, 
 did she tell of her disease and her purpose in return- 
 ing to India, for she wished to spare others the pain 
 of what she felt must prove a last farewell. When 
 she told her parents of her purpose to return to India 
 at once, she begged them to let her go without a good- 
 by kiss. So, on July 7, 1891, she left them. 
 
 Specialists in London and Paris confirmed the ver- 
 dict of American physicians, that she was a victim of 
 leprosy. Her right forefinger was insensible to pain 
 in the first two joints, and there was a leprous spot 
 on one cheek. 
 
 Not until she arrived in Bombay did she remove the 
 seal of silence from her sister's lips. Then, on learn- 
 ing that a friend had written the facts to New York, 
 and fearing that the receipt of news from others would 
 kill her parents, she wrote to her mother : 
 
 281 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 " After prayerful consideration, I find it wisest and 
 kindest to tell you, or to have dear, brave-hearted Sister 
 Rena tell, with whom I intrusted this mystery of God's 
 Providence, to tell you what she pledged to keep from 
 you. She will tell you how our loving Heavenly 
 Father, who is ' too wise to err,' has, in his infinite love 
 and wisdom, chosen, called, and prepared your daugh- 
 ter to teach lessons of patience, endurance, and sub- 
 mission, while I shall have the joy of ministering to a 
 class of people who, but for the preparation which has 
 been mine for this special work, would have no helper 
 at all; and while I am called apart with these needy 
 creatures who hunger and thirst for salvation, and 
 for comfort and cheer, he, who has called and cheered 
 me, promises that he, himself, will be to me as a little 
 sanctuary, where I am to abide, and abiding in him, I 
 shall have a supply of all my needs." 
 
 To a friend who asked her why she was returning 
 to India, when it was evident she was in poor health, 
 she said, " My Father knows the way I go, and I am 
 sure it is the right way." When, later, the friend 
 learned the real reason for the missionary's return, she 
 suggested that prayer be made for recovery ; the brave 
 leper replied: 
 
 " I have not yet received any assurance of healing ; 
 
 perhaps I can serve my Father better thus." Always 
 
 this was her spirit, as she indicated by her frequent 
 
 singing of the words : 
 
 " No chance has brought this ill to me, 
 'Tis God's sweet will, so let it be; 
 He seeth what I cannot see. 
 There is a need be for each pain, 
 And he will make it one day plain 
 That earthly loss is heavenly gain." 
 
 282 
 
THE FAITH OF A LEPER 
 
 Miss Reed became Superintendent of the Asylum 
 for Lepers at Chandag, where she began to be a source 
 of great joy to the sufferers. A visitor, who found her 
 soon after the beginning of her work, wrote : 
 
 " She was binding up, with her own hands, the hor- 
 rible wounds, and speaking soothing words of comfort 
 to those poor distressed ones. It has always been a 
 trial to her to witness suffering in others, yet she is 
 most devoted in her attention, and so gentle and kind. 
 We were very much surprised to find her so active 
 and cheerful, and looking so well. She told us she 
 had never felt better in health, more cheerful in spirits, 
 nor happier in service than she does now." 
 
 The visitor went on to say that the state of her feel- 
 ings was " not the result of any medical treatment she 
 has adopted, as she gave up all treatment of that sort 
 under a strong sense that God only required of her 
 faith in him and in his holy power." 
 
 The remedies she denied herself she gladly used for 
 the lepers in her charge, for she felt this as surely a 
 part of her work as she believed it to be a part of her 
 life to leave herself absolutely in God's hands. She 
 trusted in his grace, and always she found it sufficient. 
 
 " The everlasting arms are underneath, upholding 
 and keeping me trustful," she wrote in 1892. " I find 
 the love of Jesus adequate consolation, soothing and 
 cheering my heart." 
 
 Again she quoted from Ruskin : " In our whole life- 
 melody the music is broken off here and there by 
 * rests,' and we foolishly think that we have come to 
 the end of the tune. God sends a time of forced 
 leisure, a time of sickness and disappointed plans, and 
 
 283 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 makes a sudden pause in the choral hymn of our lives, 
 and we lament that our voices must be silent and our 
 part missing in the music which ever goes up to the 
 ear of the Creator. . . . Not without design does God 
 write the music of our lives. Be it ours to learn the 
 time and not be discouraged at the ' rests.' If we look 
 up, God will beat the time for us." 
 
 She rejoiced as, one by one, the lepers became Chris- 
 tians. In December, 1893, she was able to say that of 
 the fifty-nine inmates of the asylum, all but six were 
 Christians. Not only so, but there were marked trans- 
 formations in the way of those who had been Chris- 
 tians. " Gentleness, patience, and peace are now mani- 
 fest in the lives of some who, one year ago, were 
 unhappy and so quarrelsome that I was often called 
 several times daily to settle differences," she testified. 
 
 As the disease became more marked, her sufferings 
 increased. But she had no complaint to make. " I am 
 kept through all," she wrote, in 1897. "The ' Friend 
 that sticketh closer than a brother, is so tender, and 
 his presence is salvation from sin and from care. His 
 love satisfieth." 
 
 The work of the asylum would have been tremen- 
 dous for a strong woman, for there were supplied only 
 two assistants, both natives. The strain of looking 
 after the establishment was terrific, but she testified 
 that God helped her in answer to her daily prayer for 
 help. And she was glad. 
 
 Years passed, and still Mary Reed's work of faith 
 went on. The progress of the disease seemed to be 
 stayed, and she was able to work with more comfort. 
 Gradually the institution was improved, until it became 
 
 284 
 
THE FAITH OF A LEPER 
 
 one of the finest leper asylums in the world. Scores 
 were brought to share her faith in Jesus Christ, and the 
 last days of hundreds were brightened by the ministry 
 of the devoted woman who heard God's call to go out 
 to the verge of the Himalayas in his service. 
 
 A letter written to her sister Rena on August 20, 
 1899, gives a wonderful glimpse of Miss Reed's life of 
 faith. 
 
 *' 1891-1899. Eight years. Yes, eight years. But the 
 promise, ' Lo ! I am with you alway,' or, as the Re- 
 vised Version of the Bible says, * all the days ' is true. 
 
 " It was sweet and good of you to remember to write 
 me on the morning of July 7th. I, too, was reminded on 
 that day, six weeks ago, that it was the anniversary of a 
 day never to be forgotten by you and me. I lived over 
 again the scene in the little corner bedroom that morn- 
 ing and at the railroad station at Beckett's, and oh, 
 the heart-breaking memories of dear mother's last look, 
 and of father's trustful prayer for me at the family 
 altar that morning, and the good-bys ! Ah, there will 
 be no good-by in heaven. No more parting, no more 
 tears, no sickness, no sinners, no Satan! Satan is 
 very much alive and very busy and manifest here these 
 days, but I cherish the blessed hope that these are ' the 
 latter days ' of which we read in the Gospels. . . . 
 
 " As father used to sing while at work in the shop : 
 
 *' ' Messiah will reign, despite all his foes : 
 
 His mandates are fraught with glac^ness and peace, 
 His kingdom, blood-bought, must ever increase; 
 Till the whole earth be filled with the knowledge 
 Of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.' 
 
 ^* Now, how am I to reply to your questions, ' Do 
 you not think you will come home again ? It is not im- 
 
 285 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 possible, is it ? ' For I don't know yet. And I am not 
 in the habit of thinking out plans for the future. I 
 simply know that my heart would greatly rejoice 
 should it prove to be the Lord's plan that we should 
 all meet once more in our earthly home. Sometimes 
 the star of hope does rise in my heart, that he does 
 prepare this joy for us, but then the tiny star sets 
 again and new lessons of patience, trust, waiting, and 
 some little suffering are given to be learned. I am not 
 quite so well during the past week, though I am not 
 really ill." . . . 
 
 Seven years longer the disease manifested itself. 
 The affected finger continued lifeless, and finally burst 
 open. " But by 1906," to quote the words of W. M. 
 Banner, Secretary of the Mission to Lepers, *' through 
 the providence of God, in answer to the faith of his 
 people and the prayers offered on her behalf, the dis- 
 ease became arrested. The finger regained its normal 
 condition. The anesthetic patch on her cheek resumed 
 its sensitiveness. Her physical condition was so greatly 
 improved that she was advised she could make a home 
 journey once more without the slightest danger of 
 transmitting the disease to anyone. 
 
 " You won't go back, will you? " was the first ques- 
 tion that greeted her when she reached the Ohio home. 
 *' Oh, yes ! " was the reply. ** Half of my heart is 
 already in India." She remained but a month, then 
 was off to the work for the suffering to which she felt 
 she had been peculiarly set apart. 
 
 After seven years more she has given to her charges, 
 she wrote to Mr. Banner : " I am still kept in won- 
 drously good health, as the disease is seemingly holden. 
 
 286 
 
THE FAITH OF A LEPER 
 
 This is to God's praise, and deeply and humbly thank- 
 ful my heart is to him who thus continues to manifest 
 his saving power through the Great Physician, our 
 blessed Lord and Saviour. 
 
 " I shall be fifty-nine my next birthday, December 
 fourth, and I begin to realize it will be necessary to 
 lay down some of the duties, or make them over to 
 some one whom the Lord will, I trust, call in due time 
 to help with correspondence, accounts, etc., in the work 
 here." 
 
 So, " in a strength which is distinctly God-given, 
 she labors on in faith and hope," Mr. Banner writes, 
 *' receiving a present reward in the knowledge that in 
 the deepest sense it is still true that ' the lepers are 
 cleansed.' " 
 
 287 
 
LVII 
 
 "THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD"' 
 
 ^TpHERE is a song of one hundred and seventeen 
 -■- words about which perhaps more has been writ- 
 ten than about any other poem ever composed. It 
 was written by a Jew several thousand years ago, but 
 it is as fresh to-day as when it was first sung. It is 
 called the Twenty-third Psalm, and is a song for all 
 men, of every age, of every station in life. For three 
 thousand years its words have fallen from the lips of 
 those waiting to pass from beds of pain into the pres- 
 ence of the Saviour. They have been spoken trem- 
 blingly by those whose many years of life have revealed 
 to them their dependence on God ; by men and women 
 in the full tide of strength; and by young men and 
 women eagerly looking out on life which they felt was 
 all before them. They have been lisped by little children 
 who knew little of what sin and suffering mean, but 
 they have known the Shepherd, and have put their trust 
 in him. 
 
 When in 1681 Isabel Alison and Isabel Harvie were 
 put to death at Edinburgh for their faithfulness to the 
 terms of the Scottish Covenant, they sang this song. 
 In 1834, as he lay dying, Edward Irving, a deposed 
 minister of the Scotch Presbyterian Church, conscious 
 
 * See Prothero's " The Psalms in Human Life," and Stod- 
 dart's " The Old Testament in Life and Literature." 
 
 288 
 
" THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD " 
 
 of the righteousness of his life, slowly repeated the 
 same matchless words. In 1712, Joseph Addison 
 wrote in The Spectator one of the most famous ver- 
 sions of the Psalm. Macaulay says in his essay on 
 Addison : *' Of the Psalms his favorite was that which 
 represents the Ruler of all things under the endearing 
 image of a shepherd, whose crook guides the flock safe 
 through gloomy and desolate glens, to meadows well 
 watered and rich with herbage. On that goodness to 
 which he ascribed all the happiness of his life he relied 
 in the hour of death with the love that casteth out 
 fear." As a child Byron was taught the simple words, 
 and never forgot them, while Ruskin rejoiced that he 
 had learned them in childhood. He declared that seven 
 of the Psalms, of which the twenty-third was one, 
 when " well studied and believed, suffice for all per- 
 sonal guidance." 
 
 When James Russell Lowell was twenty-five years 
 old he wrote to a bereaved friend : " The older I grow, 
 the less am I affected by the outward observance and 
 form of religion and the more confidingness and trust- 
 ingness do I feel toward God. He leadeth me in green 
 pastures. Trust in Providence is no longer a meaning- 
 less phrase to me. The thought of it has oftener 
 brought happy tears into my eyes than any other 
 thought except that of my beloved Maria. It is there- 
 fore no idle form when I tell you to lean on God. I 
 know that it is needless to say this to you, but I know 
 also that it is always sweet and comforting to have 
 our impulses seconded by the sympathy of our friends. 
 
 " We arc tall enough to reach God's hand, 
 The angels are no taller." 
 
 289 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 Sir William Hamilton, the philosopher, in 1856, 
 when he was dying, was consoled by the words of verse 
 four, "Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." John 
 Howard, the father of prison reform, fearlessly mak- 
 ing his investigations in the damp, unwholesome cells, 
 ill lighted and badly ventilated, where prisoners were 
 confined without exercise or employment, facing small- 
 pox and jail fever, strengthened himself by the remem- 
 brance of this Psalm. '' Trusting," he says, '' in divine 
 providence, and believing myself in the way of my duty, 
 I visit the most noxious cells, and while so doing ' I fear 
 no evil.' " Alexander Duff, missionary of the Presby- 
 terian Church of Scotland to India, made the Psalms 
 his daily food. On one of his perilous journeys in 
 the Himalayas he saw a native shepherd followed by 
 his flock. The man frequently stopped and looked 
 back. If he saw a sheep drawing too near the edge of 
 the precipice, he would go back and apply his crook 
 to one of the hind legs, and gently pull it back till the 
 animal joined the rest. Going up to the shepherd, he 
 noticed that he had a long rod, as tall as himself, and 
 twisted around the lower half of a thick bar of iron. 
 The region was infested with wolves and other dan- 
 gerous animals, which in the night time prowled about 
 the place where the sheep lay. With his long rod the 
 shepherd could strike the animal such a blow as would 
 make it flee. This brought to the remembrance of the 
 traveler the expression of David, the shepherd, '* Thy 
 rod and thy staff, they comfort me," and saved it, as he 
 thought, from the charge of tautology, the staff refer- 
 ring to God's hold of the sheep, the rod to his defense 
 against his enemies. When he himself lay dying, and 
 
 290 
 
" THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD " 
 
 apparently unconscious, his daughter repeated for him 
 the Twenty-third Psahn, and he responded at the end 
 of each verse. 
 
 Austin Abbott, at one time dean of the New York 
 University Law School, once said, when speaking of 
 the words, " Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me " : 
 "At my father's house there is a little closet where were 
 kept canes and walking-sticks. In my visits to the old 
 house, when my father and I are going out for a walk, 
 we often go to the cane closet and pick out our sticks. 
 In this I have frequently been reminded of the saying 
 that the Word of God is a staff. How often have I 
 selected from the armory of the interpreter a text 
 suited to the present exigency ! " 
 
 " During the war, when the season of impending dis- 
 aster was upon us, the verse, * He shall not be afraid of 
 evil tidings; his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord,' 
 was a staff to walk with many dark days. When death 
 took away our child and left us almost broken-hearted, 
 I found another staff in the promise that ' weeping may 
 endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.' 
 When, in impaired health, I was exiled for a year, I 
 took with me this staff, which never failed : ' He know- 
 eth the thoughts that he thinketh toward thee, thoughts 
 of peace and not of evil.' In times when human judg- 
 ment has seemed to be set at naught, I have found it 
 easy to go forward with this staff : * In quietness and 
 in confidence shall be your strength.' 
 
 '* I wish that our young men, instead of stumbling 
 purposely, as so many do, over what seems to them 
 repugnant or repulsive in the Scripture, would choose 
 daily from the armory a staff suited to the walk of 
 
 291 
 
THE BOOK OF FAITH IN GOD 
 
 the day, and they would soon come to possess many 
 favorite because helpful passages in constant remem- 
 brance." 
 
 The Twenty-third Psalm is a personal possession for 
 every Christian. Again and again it has been pointed 
 out that if the first verse began, ** The Lord is a 
 shepherd," it is not likely that men and women and 
 children for three thousand years would have counted 
 it one of their priceless possessions. But the phrase is, 
 '' The Lord is my shepherd." He gives individual at- 
 tention and care to his sheep; he calls them each by 
 name. God knows and cares for us each one just as 
 well as if that one were the only being in the universe. 
 '' The Lord is my shepherd." 
 
 292 
 
INDEX OF TEXTS CITED OR ILLUSTRATED 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 TEXT PAGE 
 
 4:7 183 
 
 49: 18 33 
 
 49:24 176 
 
 EXODUS. 
 
 3:14 15 
 
 20:8 169 
 
 NUMBERS. 
 
 33: 19 278 
 
 DEUTERONOMY. 
 
 33: 27 "2, 124, 283 
 
 1 SAMUEL. 
 
 8: 19 183 
 
 2 SAMUEL. 
 
 12: 7 
 12: 23 
 
 183 
 265 
 
 1 KINGS. 
 
 17: 7-9 279 
 
 17: 15, 16 279 
 
 20: II 196 
 
 2 KINGS. 
 
 4:26 
 
 266 
 
 EZRA. 
 
 1:1 184, 186 
 
 7:9 175 
 
 NEHEMIAH. 
 
 i: »o 175 
 
 ESTHER. 
 
 4: 10, 11; 5: 2 17 
 
 JOB. 
 
 1 : 10 181 
 
 1 : 21 198, 276 
 
 13: IS 25, 275 
 
 23: 10 38 
 
 PSALMS. 
 
 1:6 282 
 
 3: 5 112 
 
 4:8 112, 158 
 
 18: 35 210 
 
 TEXT PAGE 
 
 2Z 270, 288 
 
 -23: I, 2 .... 37, 92, 229 
 
 ^3: 6 20 
 
 30: 5 291 
 
 31: 5 178 
 
 33:20 31 
 
 34:7 61 
 
 34: 10 133 
 
 37: 3 128, 204, 206 
 
 37:5 48 
 
 ZT-7 46 
 
 37: 16 172 
 
 37:24 176 
 
 40: 5 238 
 
 42:5 22 
 
 46: I 15, 258 
 
 55: 22 277 
 
 63:8 176 
 
 73: 15 90 
 
 73:23 158 
 
 91 : I 197. 199 
 
 91: 12 189, 193 
 
 91 : 15, 16 181 
 
 103: I 214 
 
 103: 14 182 
 
 106: I 139 
 
 "2: 7 277, 291 
 
 119: 50 181 
 
 136: 12 178 
 
 138: 7 199 
 
 143:8 45 
 
 145: 16 176 
 
 PROVERBS. 
 
 3: I • 
 19: 17 
 
 148 
 80 
 
 ISAIAH. 
 
 26: 4 
 30: 21 
 40: II 
 40: 12 
 41 : 10 
 43: 2 
 44: 28 
 46: I 
 46: 4 
 55: II 
 59: I 
 61: 2 
 
 . 26 
 
 • 37 
 
 • 179 
 . 67 
 
 76, 280 
 
 . 89 
 
 . 186 
 
 . 258 
 
 • 17 
 . 222 
 . 178 
 . 81 
 
 JEREMIAH. 
 
 32: 
 
 291 
 236 
 
 293 
 
INDEX 
 
 DANIEL. 
 
 TEXT PAGE 
 
 3: 17, i8 278 
 
 MALACHI. 
 3:6 18 
 
 MATTHEW. 
 
 4: 4 154 
 
 5: II, 12 . . . . 222, 235, 243 
 
 6: 19 23s 
 
 6:32 152 
 
 6: 33 204, 239 
 
 T-T . . . 168 
 
 7:16 246 
 
 8: 10 29 
 
 10: 37, 38 231 
 
 11: 28, 29 168 
 
 12: 20 28 
 
 13:8 222 
 
 1A- 27 239 
 
 14: 30 237 
 
 14: 31 29 
 
 25: 40 146 
 
 26: 39 275 
 
 28: 20 89, 233 
 
 MARK. 
 
 1 : 40, 41 176 
 
 5: 39 267 
 
 9: 19, 24 29 
 
 LUKE. 
 
 7:5 29 
 
 7: II 26s 
 
 22:31 183 
 
 22: 35 117 
 
 JOHN. 
 
 1:47 182 
 
 4:23 15 
 
 4: 29 169 
 
 5:2-7 17 
 
 6: 20 91 
 
 6:27 233 
 
 11:35 23 
 
 13: 23 181 
 
 14 153 
 
 14: 15 145 
 
 14: 18 89 
 
 15 152 
 
 '7 123 
 
 21: 17 267 
 
 ACTS. 
 
 2: 4 161 
 
 4:13 248 
 
 4: 18-20 269 
 
 7: 54, 55 269 
 
 8:4 40, 141, 264 
 
 8: 26-40 40 
 
 10: 1-23 40 
 
 ROMANS. 
 
 8:1 138 
 
 8: 13 270 
 
 TEXT PAGE 
 
 8:28 25, 198 
 
 8:38 24 
 
 1 CORINTHIANS. 
 
 1 : 27 248 
 
 Z'-23 Z2 
 
 10: 12 196 
 
 13 . . 153 
 
 15 26s 
 
 15: 16, 22 269 
 
 15: 55 269 
 
 2 CORINTHIANS. 
 
 Z-2 246 
 
 4: 17 26, 181, 256 
 
 4: 18 198 
 
 GALATIANS. 
 5:22 234 
 
 PHILIPPIANS. 
 4:4 234 
 
 COLOSSIANS. 
 3: 15 172 
 
 I THESSALONIANS. 
 5: 17 179 
 
 1 TIMOTHY. 
 
 2:1 167 
 
 2 TIMOTHY. 
 
 2=13 75 
 
 TITUS. 
 2: 10 261 
 
 PHILEMON. 
 152 
 
 HEBREWS. 
 
 4: 15 182 
 
 II 30, 226 
 
 11: I 141 
 
 11:8 114, 235 
 
 JAMES. 
 2: 24 236 
 
 I PETER. 
 2:5 '. . 169 
 
 I JOHN. 
 
 4:8 15 
 
 4: 18 138 
 
 REVELATION. 
 :?: 13 240 
 
 94 
 
BOOKS FROM WHICH ILLUSTRATIONS 
 ARE CITED 
 
 ANN OF AVA 
 
 By Ethel Daniels Hubbard 
 FAITH AND FACTS 
 
 By Marshall Broomhall 
 FROM MY YOUTH UP 
 
 By Margaret E. Sangster 
 LACKED YE ANYTHING? 
 
 By George Swan 
 LIFE OF ADONIRAM JUDSON 
 LONG LABRADOR TRAIL, THE 
 
 By Dillon Wallace 
 MARY REED 
 
 By John Jackson 
 MUSTARD SEED IN JAPAN, A 
 
 By William M. Vories 
 OLD TESTAMENT IN LIFE AND LITERATURE 
 
 By Jane T. Stoddart 
 PSALMS IN HUMAN LIFE, THE 
 
 By Rowland E. Prothero 
 RETROSPECT, A 
 
 By J. Hudson Taylor 
 SOCIAL CHRISTIANITY IN THE ORIENT 
 
 By John E. Clough 
 STRUGGLE FOR A SOUL, A 
 
 By Hinckley and Chrisleib 
 LURE OF THE LABRADOR WILD 
 
 By Dillon Wallace 
 UGANDA BY PEN AND CAMERA 
 
 By C. W. Hattersly 
 WITH THE TIBETANS IN TENT AND TEMPLE 
 
 By Susie C. R. Rijnhart 
 
 295 
 
Princeton Theoloqical Seminary Lib^^^^ 
 
 1 1012 01186 4636